Sleeping Pills
by Kate-lyn89
Summary: Jade West moves to LA for the first time to become a writer, but on her first night she gets an unexpected visitor.
1. The Unexpected Visitor

**Hey guys, sorry I've been MIA again. I'm working on another story, but i thought of this one shot at work today. I'm marking it as complete, but I may continue it if wanted. Enjoy.**

* * *

What a long day. Moving from New York is defiantly a process. My new apartment is covered in boxes. I look around at all the work I have in front of me. I sigh and look at the time, its quarter to nine in the evening.

"God, no wonder I'm so tired. It's almost midnight in New York." I yawn.

After growing up in New York and going to performing arts school there, I decided to become a script writer. It's been four years after graduation and I finally landed a job writing on a movie. I decided it would be better for my career if I moved to LA. So here I am, Jade West, in LA, somewhere I never thought I'd be, but nevertheless, I'm going to make the most of it. I look around again at my apartment. It was a two bedroom apartment, with a large kitchen and an open plan living room, a spa in my bathroom and most of the big furniture.

Ok, ok, well even though I'm technically "a struggling writer", rich parents sure come in handy. It's a nice building, only two apartments per floor. Thank god, less people I'll have to deal with. I was told some actress lives across the hall, hopefully I can avoid her as long as possible.

"I better get started on some of these boxes." I groan, tucking my ebony hair behind my ears.

After about an hour, my stomach reminds me, I haven't eaten almost all day. Luckily I had gone shopping before I arrived at my apartment. I wander over to the fridge, when I suddenly hear a loud knock at the door. I turn and look at the door.

'_Maybe, if I'm quiet, they'll go away!_' I think, and turn back to the fridge, deciding what I wanted to eat.

The knocking comes again, louder and more continuous. I groan outwardly and stomp towards the door. I look in the peep hole and see a young woman, with long brown hair and bronzed skin. She looks kind of familiar. I open the door to shout at her, who the heck is she anyway, interrupting my night and at this hour. I reef open the door, but am surprised at who I find.

"Hi!" Says the woman, with a thousand watt smile.

It's a smile I've seen before, many times in fact, splattered over all the tabloids. I can't believe it, she couldn't be my neighbour, could she?

"I'm your neighbour! I live across the hall!" She exclaims, loudly. I furrow my brows, she's rather perky for a famous actress. Yes, she's certainly famous alright. The last four years, she's become quite the little movie star.  
"You must be Jade!" Her perky up beat voice is rather odd for this time of night "I'm Tori, Tori Vega!" She then grabs me by the shoulders and hugs me rather hard.  
'_Oh, Jesus! She's a hugger!_' I think, awkwardly.

"Oh, yeah, I'm Jade. It's nice to meet you, I guess." Muttering the last part, trying to escape her vice grip. She lets go and comes inside.  
"Ahh.." I begin, not wanting her in my apartment.  
"Oh my gosh, your apartment is so cute!" She gushes. Something seemed a little odd about her, I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  
"Was there something you came over for?" I ask, trying to get her to leave. I don't care if she's a famous actress, she's invading my space and I want her to leave.  
"Oh!" As if she just remembered why she was here, "Yes! I want to know if you had any eggs?"  
"Eggs?" I question, wearily.  
"Yes! I just got back for a movie shoot and I have no food in the house!" She says, happily.  
"Oh, don't you have people that can do that for you?" I ask, with a raised eyebrow.  
"You are so pretty, you know!" She says, suddenly gazing into my eyes.  
"I'm sorry?" I ask, starting to feel a little uneasy with this whole situation.  
She starts walking towards me, she reaches out and touches my hair.  
"Your hair, it's beautiful." She says, as she strokes it.  
"Oh God." I mutter. She laughs.  
"If you're lucky, I'll be making you scream that later." She says, huskily, winking as she does so. My eyes widen in surprise.

She stops stroking my hair and continues walking around my lounge room. Something wasn't right here, I know actresses are weird, but her erratic behaviour points to something else.  
"Erm, Tori? Have you taken anything?" I ask. She turns dramatically.  
"Yes! Ambien!" She exclaims. A sleeping pill, that makes sense.  
"Ok, how long ago did you take it?" I ask, wondering when its full affects were going to kick in.  
"About five minutes ago. Oh! Your couch looks so comfy!" She exclaims. She runs over to the couch and jumps on it.  
"Oh, no, no. Maybe you should try out your own couch." I say, hurriedly. But it was too late, her head rolls back and her eyes close. She's passed out.  
"Well, shit!" I say, looking down at the Latina, now asleep on my couch. What am I going to do with a passed out celebrity?  
"I'm too tired for this." I mutter "I'm calling it a night."

I go and have a shower, cleaning off the day's grime. After stepping out, I put on a pair of black PJ's before clearing all the boxes off my bed. I look at my pillows and groan at myself. I grab one and an extra blanket and storm back out into the lounge room. I've never in my life been this nice to anyone. I place the pillow on the couch and gently move the sleeping actress onto it, then covering her with a blanket. I gaze at her for a moment, she really is beautiful. The magazines don't lie about that.  
"What am I doing?" I growl at myself, and stomp my way back to bed "Maybe she'll be gone in the morning! And I won't have to deal with her."

* * *

It's around eight, when I woke. My stomach gives an angry growl, realising I'd forgotten to eat last night. I get up, forgetting the reason I had forgotten to eat may still be asleep on my couch. I walk into the kitchen and hear the sound of light snores. That's when it all comes flooding back, I had a visitor last night. I go over to the couch, she's in the exact same position I left her in.

"The pill knock her out cold. Maybe I need to get some of them." I wonder out loud, before my stomach reminds me again that I was hungry.

I begin to make pancakes, it's about the only breakfast food I can make other than cereal. I just finished off the first batch and start to eat when I hear groaning. I look over and see my visitor beginning to sit up. She looks around, taking in her surroundings.

"Oh Jesus, not again." She groans, running her fingers through her hair.  
I clear my throat to make my presence known to the beautiful woman on my couch.  
"Oh!" She jumps, and looks around.  
"Good morning." I smirk.  
"Um, hi. Where am I? Who are you?" She asks, tentatively.  
"I'm your new neighbour, Jade West." I inform her.  
"Oh." She sighs, relieved, "How did I end up here?"  
"You knocked on the door and kinda barged in after I opened it."  
She gets up, "I'm so sorry."  
"You said you took an Ambien last night?" I question her, wanting to make sure that's really what she took.  
"Yeah, I got home from a movie last night and I'm so jet lagged that I wanted to make sure I slept. My last thought I remember was that I needed to go meet my new neighbour. And I guess I did." She blushes.  
"It's fine." It really wasn't, but her non drug induced self seems much less perky, maybe she wasn't so bad.

"Did I do anything odd last night?" She asks, concerned.  
"Other than barge into my apartment, you mean?"  
"Yeah?" She nods.  
"Well, let's see.." I smirk a little "You thought my apartment was cute, you wanted eggs.."  
"Eggs?" She raises her eyebrows.  
"Yep!" I nod, then continue, "You thought I was pretty and my hair is beautiful. And told me so while you stroked it."  
"Oh god!" She facepalms herself.  
I start laughing, "That's ironic."  
"What?" She asks, confused.  
"I said that too last night, and you said if I was lucky you'd make me scream that later." I explain.

Tori groans and covers her entire face and sinks back into the couch.  
"I didn't?"  
"You sure did." I was enjoying watching her squirm, I seemed to get some kind of sick pleasure from it.  
"Anything else?" She asks from behind her hands.  
"Not really, you screamed about how comfy my couch looked and then passed out on it." I say, taking my last bite of pancake. I hear her groan again, I smile, '_Well, this is fun!_'  
"Does this happen often?" I ask.  
"Sometimes, when I take Ambien, I usually do weird shit." Tori says, "I ended up in this apartment one other time and believe me, this situation is a whole lot better than last time."  
"Really? Why?" I ask, genuinely interested.  
"Well, let's put it this way, this morning I woke up with no one staring at me." She grimaces "I do not want to talk about it."

She sits there for a few minutes longer, I watch her, not sure if I should kick her out yet.  
'_She is kind of hot though._' I muse. I'm not normally nice to people, but this woman, there's something about her. Something rather interesting, maybe it was worth my time getting to know her.

"Are you hungry?" I ask, getting up and walking into the kitchen.  
"A little, but you don't have to make me breakfast. I think I've taken up enough of your hospitality as it is." She blushes again, getting up and making her way to the door.  
"Ah, come on Vega. It's just pancakes. I'm always starving after I wake up from a sleeping pill, and I bet you are too?" I raise my eyebrow at her. She gives me a funny look at the calling of her last name but her growling stomach gives her away at how hungry she is.  
"Go sit." I say. She does as she told and I begin to make her pancakes with the last of the batter. I walk over to the table with a plate of pancakes and set them in front of her.  
"Thank you, but you really didn't have to." She says, gratefully.  
"It's fine, but maybe later, you can fulfill that promise of making me scream." I wink at her, with a smirk.  
"Oh god, Jade!" She hits me in the arm.  
"Or I'll make you scream first. Either is fine with me!" I grin, watching her squirm again.  
She lets out a pretend cry and lowers her head to the table. I start to laugh.  
"You'll be right, Vega. I don't scream that loud." She groans again. Maybe this will be the start of a beautiful friendship. Either that, or I'm just going to have someone fun to mess with. I'd be ok with either.


	2. The Hazy Effect

**Hey guys, decided to continue it. I hope you all like the next chapter.**

* * *

"Why won't this flow right?!" I growl in frustration.  
I'm trying to rewrite the final scene for the movie I'm working on and it just won't work. I've been at it for hours and it's just not right.  
"Ahhh!" I slam my laptop down and cover my face with my hands.  
4 months, I've been working on it for 4 months. I have to get it right, they start shooting in a few weeks. I need a break, so I get up and move to the fridge, it's been hours since I've eaten anything. I grab last night's leftovers and pop open the lid. I lean against the counter and begin to inhale my food.  
"I really have to eat more regularly." I mutter, realising how hungry I was.

Suddenly my front door opens, I divert my attention for a moment. I see a scantily clad woman enter through the door. She's wearing nothing but a matching black lace underwear set, stockings and garter and a pair of sky high black heels.  
"Um, what are you doing?" I ask, as I watch her walk towards my bathroom.  
"My make-up artist ran out of eyeliner. I'm going to borrow yours." Tori response, half yelling as she had already gone into the bathroom.  
"Who says I have any?" I ask, loudly, turning my attention back to my meal.  
She walks back out with my large make-up case and puts it on the counter.  
"You're a 22 year old New Yorker, who lives in LA, and where's nothing but black. I'd say you own a lot of liner, Miss Goth." She flips open the case.  
"Hey, I wear green, sometimes!" I say, defensively.  
Tori rolls her eyes, in a way I've seen many times before.

Tori Vega, my neighbour. Actress, Singer and all around nice person. In a nutshell, it makes me sick to be around her. She's extremely happy all the time and has no idea what boundaries mean. After our first encounter, where her lovely sleeping pill made her pass out on my couch, she's made her presence very frequent in my apartment. Now, normally an uninvited guest would be introduced to my scissors, but as this one is rather unpredictable and entertaining, I've let it slide. It wasn't long before she had another sleeping pill haze. The hazy bit after you take the pill and before you fall asleep. Tori can never remember what she does, but lately, she always ends up here.

**A few weeks after first hazy encounter**

_*knock, knock, knock_

_"Fuck, who could that be? It's 2am!" I growl, thinking it was strange that someone could be on my level, as Tori wasn't due back until later in the morning from her latest movie shoot._

_I get up from my desk and open the door, to find none other than Tori, beaming her beautiful smile._

_"JADE!" She screams, and launches into a hug._

_"Oh Jesus! You're back early?" I say, trying to hold myself up._

_"I know! I missed you!" She says, loudly, holding on to me for dear life._

_"You've known me a few of weeks, but ok." I mutter, trying again to escape her vice grip._

_"Tori, you know it's like 2 in the morning, you should go to bed." I say. _

_She lets go of me real quick and hold me by the shoulders._

_"I will be." She says, seriously._

_"Ah, shit! Did you take an Ambien again?" I ask, concerned I might have a passed out actress on my hands again._

_She giggles and nods her head before ducking around me into my apartment._

_"No, no, no, Tori!" I try to grab her. _

_She runs over to my desk and sits down._

_"Oh my gosh, is this your script? Can I read it? Please, please, please?" She begs._

_I sigh, "You could, but I'm assuming you're going to pass out any minute."_

_"Pfft! No, I won't..." Are her last words before falling asleep. _

_I catch as she leans out of the chair._

_"You're in for a long night, Jade." I say, as I pick her up and take her to the couch._

"So, may I ask why you're only wearing underwear?" I ask, as I watch her riffle through my case, searching for my eyeliner.  
"I mean, you look great and all, but you might be a little under dressed." I continue when I get no answer.  
"I'm going to the golden globes tonight." She answers, not looking up.  
"Dressed like that? I'm can't tell if you'll make the do's or don'ts list!" I tease, as I take another bite.  
She glances up, momentarily, to give me the evils and goes back to what she was doing.  
The door opens again and a small red head walks in.  
"Tori? Have you got it?" She asks.  
"Who are you?" I ask, wondering when my front door became opened for use.  
"Oh! Hi! I'm Cat!" She says, perkily. She rushes up and gives me a hug.  
'_Great another hugger._' I think, grumpily.  
"You're so pretty, Tori wasn't wrong about you!" She gushes, still holding on to me.  
"You talked about me.." I start, looking back up at Tori.  
"FOUND IT!" Tori yells, triumphantly, holding it up in the air.  
"What did you find, babe?" My door opens once more.  
This time, a handsome young guy, with amazing hair walks in. I recognise him immediately.  
'_You've got to be kidding me! Beck Oliver! Beck Oliver is in my apartment!_' I think.  
"Jade's eyeliner, Cat ran out. Jade, you're a life saver, you really are." She thanks.  
"I never said you could borrow it." I say, finally shrugging off the redhead.  
She simply smiles at me, holding my gaze intently, knowing I'd let her use it.

"Babe?" Beck calls to Tori.  
'_They must dating._' Thinking the tabloids must have finally got something right.  
"What Beck?" Still looking me in the eyes.  
"You know, you're standing in somebody's apartment in your underwear, right?" He says, with a forced amusement.  
Tori looks down and realises she is still only in her underwear. She laughs.  
"Well, so I am. We better get back too it, thanks for this, Jade." She walks over and kisses me on the cheek.  
My ivory cheeks burn slightly at her touch, I frown.  
"Yay! Golden Globes time!" The red head squeals, before rushing out of the apartment.  
"I'll see you tomorrow, Jade." Tori winks at me, then struts away, back to her own place, leaving me a little dazed. I shake my head, what just happened?

I turn my attention back to my food, but before I could take another bite, I realise someone is still there.  
"Do you need eyeliner too?" I ask Beck.  
"No!" He says, indignantly.  
"Then why are you still here?" I raise my eyebrow.  
"Stay away from Tori, I plan on making her mine soon and I don't need some goth chick getting in my way." He gives me a filthy look, before departing from my apartment and slamming the door.  
"Well! That was rude!" I exclaim.

* * *

About 3 hours later, I finally give up on the last scene. I couldn't get it to flow and quite frankly, I could do with a break. So flop down on the couch and flip the TV on. It turns on the Golden Globes red carpet.

I sigh, "If I haven't had enough of the globes already." I grumble.  
But just as I'm about to turn it over, a glittery gold dress catches my eye.  
_"Hello, Tori Vega!" _Says the interviewer.  
It's Tori, looking gorgeous in her full length dress. She's simply beaming from ear to ear, showing off her thousand watt smile.  
_"Oh you and Beck look so great tonight! So, are the rumours true? Are you's two finally dating?" _The interview asks, as Beck comes into view.  
Beck goes to answer, but Tori gets there before him.  
_"Oh, no. Of course not. Beck and I are old friends and it was such a honour to work with him on this latest movie."_ Tori assures her.  
Beck's face falls, disappointedly, for only a moment, but it was enough for me to notice. I laugh out loud, the bloody jerk, got what was coming to him. The interview comes to an end, I watch them leave the platform and go back onto the red carpet. I flick the channel and set myself into watching something a lot less annoying. After about three hours, I can't stop yawning. I decide to go to bed early, hoping that tomorrow will bring better luck with my script. I crawl into bed and fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

Light begins to pour through my windows as I begin to stir. I had slept so peacefully last night, strange for me, but entirely welcomed. I pick up my phone and check the time, it's 10.30.  
'_God, I must have been tired._' I think, closing my eyes again.  
I begin to relax again, maybe a few more hours could do me some good. I lay there for a few minutes waiting for sleep to come, when suddenly a soft arm slips around my waist and nylon clad leg throws over my hips...  
'_There's someone in the bed with me!_'


	3. The Morning Surprise

**Hey guys, thanks so much for the great reviews. I hope you like the next chapter.**

* * *

***KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

I jump in surprise for the second time in a matter of minutes. The knocking gets louder and more frequent. Managing to slip out of the arms and legs that were wrapped around me, I stumble out of my bed. I walk out into the main living area, the knocking is becoming even more aggressive. I open the door and am met with angry face.  
"Where's Tori?" Beck demands.  
I blink blearily at the angry man in front of me, his good looking features distorted in rage.  
"Why? Did you lose her?" I reply, coolly.  
"I've been knocking on her door for the last twenty minutes and she's not answering. Where is she?" He bites.  
"Listen up, Oliver..." I say, sleepily "I've been asleep since 11.30 last night and you woke me up. So, how should I know?" He growls at me.  
"Because, somehow she always ends up here. You're all she talks about lately, the "cool New Yorker" that lives across the hall." He does finger quotes.  
"I don't know what to tell you, if she's not answering, she could just be asleep." I yawn "And besides, I don't keep track of your little girlfriend. Oh wait, you's aren't dating!" I smirk.  
The words seem to cut deep, by the expression on his face.  
"Hmpf!" He says, before storming off.

I close the door and bolt it shut, I don't need anyone else bothering me today. I lean my head against the door, when did my life become this hectic. I walk back into my room and sigh at the mess on the floor. A pair of black shoes, a gold glittery gown and black lace bra laying in a heap at the end of my bed. I see glittering jewels and a large amount of bobby pins on my night stand as well. My eyes drift over to the source of the mess, laying in my bed, wearing almost nothing. The blanket covering almost nothing, as she lay in a peaceful slumber. I look at how beautiful she looks, her brown hair messily scattered around her face, her bronze skin glowing in the morning sun. I let my eyes trail down her body, she's wearing nothing but black lace panties, her garters and stockings. It's a sight to behold, I feel a warm glow between my legs.  
"Down girl." I mutter, to my now awakening lady parts.  
It's not the first time I've had a woman in my bed, I just usually remember when they got in. At least I know nothing happened, as I'm still in full length pj's.  
"Jesus Christ, how the hell did you get in here?" I say to her, knowing she won't respond.  
I move closer and pull the blanket up and cover her, trying really hard to not keep looking at her stunning body.  
"This girl is going to be the end of me." I say, as I turn to clean up the mess on my floor.

* * *

"Finally!" I sigh, happily.  
I finally got my last scene to work, and I've now finished the script. I email it off to the director and start shutting my overused laptop. It's been a long 4 months but I got there in the end. My director calls me.  
"_Great job, Jade. And you got it to me a few weeks early, I'm very impressed. But don't think you've finished yet, I'll see you on set soon, that's when the real fun begins._" He says.  
"I look forward to it." I laugh, excitedly.  
I hear some stumbling as I sit at my desk hanging up the phone, I look up and see Tori Vega walking into my living room in all her glory. Dressed exactly as she was four hours ago when I pulled the blanket up over her. She looks around extremely confused. I take in the sight and feel my breath hitch in my throat. My lady parts start throwing demands around.  
"Would you calm down!" I mutter to them.

I watch her trying to figure out how she got here, I'm hoping she remembers because I'd love to know how she got in.  
"How do I to keep on ending up here?" She wonders.  
"I keep wondering that myself." I say, making my presence known.  
She looks over and sees me, then looks down, realising how naked she is.  
"Ah shit!" She exclaims, quickly covering her breasts.  
I smirk, "Don't cover up on my account. You were like that when I woke up."  
"Jesus, and I was in your bed." She groans, covering her face with her hands and uncovering her breasts.  
"Oh, not just in my bed.." I begin, she uncovers her face "You were spooning me."  
She just cringes at herself and goes sits down on the couch. I swing my chair around, my eyes following her as she goes.  
"What I would like to know is, how did you get in here?" I ask.  
"I drank a lot last night, like a lot!" She emphasises "I don't remember much, to be honest."

I get up and walk to my room and grab an overly large t-shirt. I walk back out to Tori and throw it at her.  
"Here, put this on. It not that I'm not enjoying your nakedness or anything, because I really am." I wink, suggestively at her.  
"Thanks" she says, putting the shirt on.  
I go sit beside her, looking at her dishevelled demeanour, I couldn't help thinking how cute she is. Crazy, but cute.  
"I honestly have no clue how I ended up here last night, I remember thinking I had to return your eye liner when I came up in the lift and that's the last thing I remember."  
"You really have to stop thinking about me at night, it's going to get you into trouble." I shake my head.  
She laughs, melodically.  
"Your boyfriend came around looking for you." I comment, after she finishes laughing.  
She looks at me extremely confused "What?"  
"Beck Oliver."  
"Oh god! He's not my boyfriend!" She grimaces "I went to school with him, he's just my friend."  
"Does he know that?" I tilt my head.  
"Of course, why would you ask that?" She replies, confused.  
"He's rather aggressive towards me, thinks I'm some sort of competition." I mention, watching her reaction. I see Tori blush heavily.  
"I don't know why he'd think that, he's never been in the running to be anything other than my friend." She says, as the blush creeps down her neck.  
I smirk at her uncomfortableness of the subject, I still get some sick pleasure out of it.

"So, this is new. You being in my apartment from alcohol instead of Ambien." I continue to smirk.  
She laughs "Oh man, I don't know how you put up with me."  
"Well, you know, it has it's perks." I glance down briefly at the shirt she just put on.  
She blushes again "Oh god!" She giggles, embarrassedly.  
"I'm still holding you to that promise of making me scream that." I wink at her.  
She covers her face and groans, throwing herself back against the couch. I laugh heartedly.  
"Well, this couldn't get anymore embarrassing." She sighs, removing her hands.  
"I'm sure it could, but I'm going to be living here a while, so we have plenty of time for it to get worse." I smirk.  
She laughs "Should you just give me a key now, or later?"  
"Well, my front door was locked last night and you managed to get in, so what's the point?" I reason.  
"I bet it was surprise waking up to me this morning?" She smiles, guiltily.  
"I was fine until I felt wrap your limbs around me. I've got to admit, I don't scare easily, but you scared the crap out of me this morning." I laugh.  
"Sorry about that, I have no excuse. I have no clue how I got in here." She laughs as well.  
"Vega, if you want to sleep with me, all you have to do is say so." I tease.  
Tori blushes again, even deeper than before.  
'_I think you struck a nerve there, West._' I think to myself, entirely amused.

She glances back at me, her blush glowing heavily. She takes a deep breath, like she was bracing herself. She begins to talk.  
"Jade, I..."  
*knock knock knock  
We both jump. The knocking's not on my door, but it sounds like Tori's.  
"Tori, are you home?" Comes a perky voice.  
Tori sighs disappointedly, she looks me in the eyes and gives my a sad smile. I realise she was about to tell me something. She gets up and moves towards the door. She pauses before she opens it, she glances back at me. It was like she didn't want to open the door. I furrow brows, thinking maybe I missed something. She opens the door.  
"Hey Cat!" A forced happy voice comes out of Tori's mouth.  
"Tori!" Cat shouts, then with a flash of red, she tackles Tori into a bone crushing hug.  
"Where have you been?" She cries "I've been calling you all day."  
"Sorry, Cat. I got a bit wayward last night and woke up here." Tori says, guiltily, trying to remove Cat off her. I smirk at the sight, it's the same thing that happens to me when Tori's taken sleeping tablets.

Cat lets go and looks around, she stops when she sees me. I grin and give her a little wave, she then looks at Tori, dressed in nothing but one of my shirts and underwear.  
"Oh girl!" She nudges Tori, waggling her eyebrows "What did you's two do last night?"  
"Jesus Christ!" Tori mutters, covering her face with her hand.  
"I can't believe you guys, I bring you home so you could sleep and you go a hook up with your hot neighbour." Cat says, extremely amused. I raise my hand to my mouth, covering a hard to hide amusement. Cat seems to have no filter.  
"Cat!" Tori scolds "Jade and I didn't hook up."  
Cat looks her up and down "Sure, ok! I'll keep your dirty little secret." She winks at Tori.  
"On that note, we need to go." She pushes Cat out of the door "Um, thanks again, Jade..for well..." She looks at me, struggling to say something.  
"All the great sex!" I hear Cat loudly whisper to Tori, thinking she needed help to finish her sentence. I bite back my giggles, as I see Tori fighting the urge to strangle her friend.  
"It was great, wasn't it?" Cat pops her head back in after being met with silence.  
"CAT!" Tori shouts at her friend, trying to will her to shut up.  
I walk over to Tori, I can see her face is red.  
"Cat, it was great." I inform her winking at Tori. Tori glares at me, mad at me for fuelling her friends wild accusations.  
"I'll return your dress later." I whisper, huskily, then kiss her on the cheek.  
Cat giggles loudly, before dragging Tori out the front door.  
"Bye, now!" I say, closing the door.  
I hear Cat begging Tori to tell her all about what happened.  
"Don't leave out any details!" Cat says, excitedly.  
Tori groans loudly, I laugh to myself, at Tori's misfortune. Although, I have to wonder, how much has Tori told her friends about me? If they both think there's something going on between us.


	4. The Replacement

**Hey guys, sorry for the wait. I rewrote this a few times, it was starting to get way too dramatic, which is how I usually write. Thanks for all the kind words, I hope you like the next chapter.**

* * *

"Finally." I mutter, stepping off the plane.  
I've never been much of a flyer and I was glad to be on solid ground again. I just arrived in Arizona, two weeks ahead of schedule. I received a frantic call from the director two days ago, our lead actor had dropped out. So here I am, flying in early to help smooth out some bumps in the script that will have to accommodate the new actor. I think I will also need to keep the director, Jack Walter, from losing his mind. Jack's an old friend of mine, he was a few years older than me, but we always got on so well. We always had big dreams as kids, which is why we got on so well. He was kind of like a big brother to me, when we were growing up. He took a major chance on me for this movie, knowing my writing skills and I'm thankful he had.

I walk through the terminal, on the way to baggage claim. As I make my way through the doors, I'm greeted with a familiar sight, a woman my age, with dirty blonde hair and olive skin. It's my old friend Kim, who just also happens to be Jack's wife.  
"Jadey!" She yells, loudly, running towards me.  
I groan, "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"  
"At least once more." She grins, hugging me.  
Kim is one of the few people I've never minded hugging me, we've known each since forever. We wait at luggage claim, waiting for my bags, chatting and catching up.  
"Hey, let's go grab a coffee before we leave." She exclaims.  
"Yes!" That sounded like the best thing I'd heard all day.

After we grab my bags, we find a nice place, order and sit down.  
"So, how's LA?" She asks, as our coffees arrive.  
"Oh, you know, warm." I reply, lamely.  
"Jade, have you even left your apartment?" She scolds, jokingly.  
"Sometimes, when I'm hungry." I admit, taking a sip of my coffee.  
"Jade, do you have any friends?" She gives me, a sympathetic look.  
"I'm Jade West, I don't need friends." I smirk.  
"God, you haven't changed a bit. But seriously, Jade. Get out, make some friends." She says, far too loudly.  
"Kim, I've been working on your husband's script for the past 4 months, I don't have time to make friends." I argue.  
She shakes her head, "What about your neighbours? You must have some, or have you frightened them away too?"  
"Don't get me started on my neighbour." I grumble.  
"Ooooh, tell me, tell me, tell me." She gushes.  
"You'll never guess who lives next to me?" I groan, taking another sip of coffee.  
"Who?" She leans forward, excitedly.  
"Tori Vega." I sigh, already exhausted by Kim's excitement.  
"No. Way." Eyes nearly pop out of her head.  
I begin to tell her the tale of the last 4 months and how Tori Vega decided to become my friend.

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait! She picked the lock?" She asks, thoroughly amused.  
"Yeah, we couldn't figure out how she got in at first. It wasn't until I left later on that afternoon, I found a bobby pin in my lock. Turns out her perky friend Cat, had a roommate when they were teenagers, which knew how to pick locks. They all got drunk one night and she taught them, but it's seems Tori can only do it when she's drunk." I shake my head at the weird quirks of my neighbour.  
Kim laughs, "Wow, your life sounds so fun."  
"I assure you, it's not." I groan, sipping my coffee.  
"Right, because finding a beautiful, half naked celebrity in your bed, is not totally awesome?" Kim argues.  
I shake my head at her antics, "Trust me, since that first night I let her in, she's basically never left. And now, in the last week, her red headed friend comes over as well. They seem to think 'I'm fun!'" Using my fingers as quotations.  
"Which they're totally wrong about, you big ol' fun sponge." Kim laughs, taking a sip of her coffee "So, who's this friend of hers that yelled at you?"  
"Oh, you'll never guess. Beck Oliver, the stupid idiot." I grumble.  
Kim chokes slightly on her coffee, then gives me a look of horror, not the look I was expecting.  
"What?" I ask, nervously.  
"Nothing." She says, quickly.  
"Kim, you're a shitty liar. Spit it out." I snap, knowing my friend is hiding something.  
Kim sighs, "Well, it's just that, we replaced the lead this morning."  
"Please tell me, for the love of god, that it's not Beck Oliver." I close my eyes, shaking my head.  
"Ok, I just won't tell you." Kim sips her coffee.  
"Fuck." I mutter, putting my head in my hands.  
This is going to be a long couple of months.

* * *

We arrive on set about two hours later and head in to see Jack. We walk into the main building and see a tanned, muscle packed guy with spiky black hair.  
"What did Jack do to his hair?" I mutter, to Kim, remembering Jack had blonde hair the last time I saw him.  
She giggles, "Don't ask, he bloody loves it."  
Jack turns around and gives me a goofy grin.  
"Jadey!" He yells, loudly.  
"What is with you two?" I shake my head.  
He runs over and hugs me, picking me up in the process. He squeezes me hard, swinging me from side to side. I laugh, but struggle to get out.  
"Jack, put me down!" I say, laughing. He puts me down and holds me at arm's length.  
"I'm so glad you're here. We need to put the changes to the script asap." He says, happily "Did Kim tell you we replaced the lead?"  
I simply grunt and cross my arms.  
"What? Did I miss something?" He asks, confused.  
"Um, well... Jadey seems to have had a bit of a run in with Beck Oliver." Kim says, awkwardly.  
"What do you mean?" Jack says, looking at Kim than back to me.

Before either of us have a chance to speak, the door flies open.  
"Jacky, baby! How are you, my friend?" Comes a rather cocky voice.  
We turn and look, and it's none other than the idiot himself, Beck Oliver, walking towards Jack with his arms opened.  
"Beck, you're here early." Jack says, surprised, "We just spoke this morning." Going and hugging Beck.  
"Well, I'm just so eager to get started, so I thought I'd fly out straight away." He says, impressively.  
"Very good. Thanks again for filling in at such short notice." Jake says.  
"It's no trouble, Jacky boy!" He laugh, pompously.  
"You remember my wife, Kim?" Jack points over to Kim.  
"Of course, it's wonderful to see you again." He goes and hugs her. Kim lets him hug her, though rather awkwardly.  
"Oh, yes. You too." She pats him awkwardly on the back.  
Jack gives me a weird look, seeing me roll my eyes at Beck.  
"And this is our head writer, Jade West." Jack presses on.  
Beck's back stiffens, he turns slowly and looks at me. His look of shock and slight anger is actually kind of funny, I wave at him, plastering a huge smile across my face.  
"Beck, I believe this is the first time we've properly been introduced." I hold out my hand, waiting for him to shake it.  
He simply ignores it and gives me a dirty look.  
"What are _you _doing here?" He growls.  
Jack frowns, "Beck, now, I don't know what happened between you two, but Jade is our head writer and one of my very good friends. So, you'll treat her with respect."  
"Respect! She stole my girlfriend!" He yells, his voice echoes through the room.

We all simply stare at him and his deranged face. I roll my eyes, Kim shakes her head and Jack just looks plain confused.  
"Jade stole your girlfriend, I didn't even know you were dating." Jack says, trying to make sense of the situation.  
"That's because they're not dating." I smirk, watching my words cut deep.  
Jack looks back at me, trying desperately to catch on.  
"And I'm not dating her either, you big idiot, she's my neighbour." I continue.  
"Who are we talking about?" Jack pleads.  
"Tori! She fucking stole Tori!" Beck explodes.  
Jack groans outwardly, I sense he'd heard this tale before.  
"Beck, you're not still on Tori, are you? Bro, she doesn't want to go out with you. How many times do you need to be told that?" Jack says, exasperatedly.  
Beck ignores Jack, "You told me she wasn't there the morning after the globes, but she was, wasn't she?"  
"Ooo, clever deduction Watson." I bait, wanting to enjoy this now that it's started.  
"Cat told me you's slept together." He growls, getting a little close.  
"Ha! You listened to the little redhead?" I laugh "The girl can't even count to three, and you believed her when she said Tori and I slept together?" My amusement to the situation seems to make him angrier.  
"She can't count to three?" Kim interjects, interested.  
"Yeah, she says '1, 2, 4 I'm coming through the door' every time she comes into my apartment." I shake my head, Kim giggles.

Hearing my comment about Cat, Beck calms down a little. Realising his friend is a little lapse in brain capacity, he may have gone a little far. He continues to look at me angrily, but says nothing else.  
"Beck, whatever happens between Jade and Tori, is their business." Jack says, he moves closer to Beck and lowers his voice "And I'd advise you to start being nice to Jade."  
"Why because she'll write me over a cliff?" He growls, sarcastically.  
"No but she'll quite happily walk you over one." Jack snaps, suddenly losing his patience "Might show him my scissors, too!" I mutter to Kim, she shushes me, while biting back a laugh.  
"Now, I let you have the part as a favour for you, so you might want to start showing me some gratitude." Jack snaps. Beck merely grunts. I frown '_Jack's doing him a favour?_'  
"And you can start by apologising to Jade." Jack says, firmly.  
I let a smile flutter across my lips as I look over expectantly to Beck.  
"I'm waiting." I smirk.  
"Hfmp! Fine, I apologise." His snarks and begins to walk away "but this doesn't change anything." He storms out of the building.  
"Ok, somebody please fill me in!" Jack demands.

* * *

I sit in Jack's trailer, typing away on my laptop, making changes to the script. I needed to accommodate Mr Bigshot. I try to get it done as quickly as possible, with no interruptions. But that wasn't to be the case.  
*beep beep  
And video chat request pops up on my screen. It reads TheRealToriVega.  
"How the hell did she get added to my video chat list?" I wonder, out loud.  
I have no time for her, so I ignore it. I continue get through the script.

"Hey Jadey." Jack says, as he comes inside "How's the script going?"  
"Good, Jack, I'm almost done with the changes." I say, happily.  
"Good work. I knew I made a good decision picking you." He grasps my shoulder "You know, it's been so long since I've seen you. Do you remember how we use to play fight when we were kids?"  
"I remember beating you." I smirk.  
"You wouldn't anymore." He grins, flexing his muscles for comedic purposes.  
*beep beep  
I groan, trying to ignore it.

"Hey, is that actually Tori Vega?" Jack asks, interestedly, looking over my shoulder at the screen.  
"Yes, and I need her to go away so I can get some work done." I grunt. It's not that I don't want to talk to her, I'm just super busy.  
"Man, I haven't seen her in years. I worked on one of her first movies, you know. Her and Beck's." He says, reminiscing.  
"That's great, Jack." I mutter, hitting the ignore button and continuing my work.  
"So, what is going on between you two?" He inquires.  
"Nothing, Jack. She's just my neighbour." I respond, although I didn't quite believe my own words.  
"You like her right?" He nudges me playfully.  
"Oh my god." I mutter, looking at him "Can you stop?"  
"No way. If my little Jade is going to date Tori Vega, I'm never going to stop!" He laughs.  
"Jack, I'm not dating her. She just invades my personal space on a day to day basis." I grumble.  
"Yeah, but you totally love it though." He grins, playfully shoving my arm.  
"No. I really don't. Now can you go away so I can get some work done..."  
*beep beep

Then suddenly, he sits on me and clicks accept on Tori's third request.  
"Jack! What are you doing?" I shout, struggling to get him off me.  
"TORI!" Jack shouts, pushing my hands away.  
"_Whoa! Jack Walter! Hi, how are you?_" Tori says, rather surprised.  
"I'm great!" Jack exclaims, "How are you? It's been ages."  
I continue to try and push him off but he's so muscly, he's like a solid rock.  
"_Oh, I'm fine. I hear you're directing movies now, good for you._" She says, still slightly surprised at the person who answered.  
"Thanks, Tori. You and I should totally have lunch soon, I've got some great roles coming up..." He starts to ramble, holding me down on the seat.  
"Jack, get off me!" I grumble, shoving him from the back.  
"Shhh, Jade, I'm talking." He shushes me, again pushing my hands away.  
"_Hi Jade._" Tori says, trying to see me from behind Jack.  
I wave at her from behind Jack, "Hi Vega." I sigh.

They continue talking about work for about minute longer, while I continue to struggle under Jack's weight. I hear Tori giggle as she watches me try to push my friend off. I almost push him off when the conversation turns.  
"So, I heard you and Jade are a thing now." Jack says, replanting himself on me.  
I growl as I begin to kick and struggle even more. I can hear the glee in Jack's voice, knowing how annoyed I am right know.  
"Jack, what the hell?" I mutter, wondering why I didn't have my scissors on me.  
"_Did Jade tell you that?_" Tori asks, uncertainly.  
"No!" I say, indignantly, "Your friggen boyfriend did!" I feel Jack plant his feet more firmly on the ground as I start fighting even harder.  
"_Jade! How many times do I have to tell you? Beck isn't my boyfriend!_" She groans "_Wait! Why is Beck there?_"  
"Oh, he replaced the lead in my movie." Jack says, shoving my hands away.  
"_I bet he was happy to see you, Jade._" She says, sympathetically.  
"He was a total di..." I begin to say, before Jack covers my mouth.  
"No, no. He's our star remember." Jack says, trying to silence me "But it's weird your friend would go tell him that's you's slept together when you's actually didn't."  
Tori suddenly looks guilty "_Um, about that..._"  
I manage to pull Jack's hand of my mouth "What did you do?" I question.  
Jack loosens his grip on me, but stays firmly planted on my lap.  
"Yeah, what happened?" He asks, suddenly more interested in Tori than annoying me.  
"_Well, it was the day after I woke up in your bed._" She starts, blushing a little, "_Beck came around with a huge bunch of flowers. He wanted to ask me out again, I guess. I've never wanted to date him, but I could see it was starting to get out of hand._"  
"Well, what did you do?" I ask, demandingly.  
"_I've never wanted to hurt his feelings, which is why I guess it's been going on for so long. So, when he got there, I knew enough was enough. Which is why I kinda set Cat  
on him._" She finishes sheepishly.  
"Oh, Jesus." I groan.  
"_I'm sorry, Jade. Never in a million years did I think he'd be in in Arizona with you. He took it really badly, he usually goes back to Canada when he's upset over a girl._" She reasons.

We fall quiet for a moment, Jack mules over what has been said.  
"You know, that makes so much sense." He comments.  
"Why?" I ask, giving Jack another shove, which was no use.  
"He rang me this morning, begged me to let him be the replacement. Said he needed to get out of LA." Jack explains.  
"Great, now I have to put up with a deranged actor who thinks I slept with the love of his life. Awesome." I grumble.  
"_I'm sorry, Jade. In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't ever let Cat speak again._" She smiles, guiltily at me.  
"You think!" I snap, finally pushing Jack off me "Jesus, could you weigh anymore?"  
"Maybe." He grins, getting up off the ground.

"So, what am I suppose to do about Mr Prettyboy now?" I question Jack.  
"Look, Jade. Just make the best of a bad situation. All I can say is, you will always have the upper hand." He says, carefully.  
"What do you mean?" I furrow my brows.  
He picks up the script and flips it to the section about character features.  
"I trust you, your script will be law." He gives me a knowing look, before turning to leave "Think about it. Bye Tori." He walks out the door, having had his fun sitting on me.  
"_Bye. What do you think he meant by that?_" She asks me.  
I carefully read the character features, the main character is suppose to have flaming red hair. I was going to change it to suit Beck. Then, it hits me.  
"He means, we're going to dye Beck's hair red." I smirk, evilly, holding the script up to the screen.  
"_No way!_" She gasps, covering her smile that's starting to appear.  
"I was going to change it, but you know what? I'm not." I laugh, putting the script down.  
"_Oh no._" She giggles, "_it's going to be a long two months._"  
"It will be for him." I smirk, now feeling a lot better, maybe I'll even add in a haircut.  
We continue chatting for another hour or so, laughing and arguing like we always do. I was really starting to get used too this girl and maybe I did kind of like her. But, what was I was going to do about it, well it would just have to wait until I was back in LA. I was so deep in conversation that I didn't know was someone was watching me through the window.


	5. The Change of Heart

**Sorry, for the dramatic pause in the last chapter. I hope you like the new chapter, I think we're on the home stretch now for the story. So stay tuned, I'm excited for where it's going to go.**

* * *

"SURPRISE!"  
"Ahhh!" I sit up in bed quickly, to see two happy faces looking at me.  
"What?...How?...When did..." I try hard to put two words together, in my incoherent state.

Hold on, before we get to here, we need to rewind back a number of weeks.  
I started working on Jack's movie about six weeks ago. I got the shock of my life when I found out Beck Oliver was replacing the lead. He was none too happy to see me either. We got into a huge fight when he got there. And when I say 'we' I mean, he yelled and I kind of spurred it on. I had planned on exacting my revenge on him, by making his hair red, but then I realised, this is my first actual job. The only reason I have any power is because Jack is my friend. Writers are very disposable and Beck is a huge star, he could make life very difficult for me. Though, I wasn't going to let him off that easily, especially since I figured out he'd been watching me through the window of Jack's trailer whenever I spoke to Tori. I'm wasn't entirely sure why he was doing that, though. Either way, I knew that I had to change the script to suit him, but he wasn't informed until three days before shooting. Instead, I had Kim go buy a red wig and have it set in his trailer.

**Week two in Arizona **

"What is this?" He spits, as he storms into Jack's trailer, four days out from filming.  
"What is what?" I glance up briefly from my laptop.  
"This!" He throws the wig at me.  
"It's a wig." I say, pointing out the obvious, before turning my attention back to my laptop.  
"Why was is it in my trailer?" He growls.  
I pick up the hard copy of the script and flip it to the character features. I hand it to him.  
"Here." I say, with little feeling.  
"I know what the character features are." He throws the script down on the table.  
"Then, why are you here?" I ask, typing away on my laptop.  
"I thought you were supposed to be changing it?" He demands.  
"Well, I didn't." I say, coolly.  
"You know, you're making a huge mistake messing with me. Jack can't protect you your whole career." He says, threateningly.  
"I don't understand what exactly I've done wrong to you, honestly." I say "You seem to have fabricated some whole scenario in your head."  
"You and Tori..."  
"Dude! I'm not with Tori!" I snap, exasperatedly. I get up and move across the room.  
"Seriously, Beck! I haven't even known her for more than 5 months. She's just my friend, same as _you_." I spit the last part out with attitude, before I go open up the fridge, trying to distract myself.

Beck sits down and puts his head in his hands. I watch him, he seems a little broken. He mumbles something.  
"What?" I ask.  
"I never wanted to be just her friend." He says, sadly.  
"Isn't that better than nothing, though?" I frown at his demeanour, it changed so suddenly.  
"Do you know what it's like being in the friendzone for 8 years?" He cries, letting his head up, "No! You don't! I bet you had anyone you ever wanted."  
'_Well, that's far from the truth!_' I think, sitting back down.  
"Look..." I start, wondering when this became an episode of Dr Phil, "Sometimes, things aren't meant to be, people aren't meant to be together or even stay together. It's just life. You don't always get what you want."  
He looks at me listening, unsure of what say.  
"You know, if you weren't such a douché to me, I'd admire you a bit." I admit, though begrudgingly.  
"Why?" He frowns.  
"You said you've been in the 'friendzone' for 8 years? Yes?" I ask, he nods, "And how many times have you asked Tori out?"  
He mutters what sounds like a large number, but I couldn't quite catch it.  
"I can't remember." He eventually mutters.  
"Ok, so a few times. You manned up and asked her out. Most people sit in the friendzone and never know. You know, Beck, you know it's not going to happen, but you're still her friend." Listen to me go, Dr Philling this shit, "And that, takes a lot of balls." Well, maybe not the last bit, Hey, I gotta put a Jade West touch on my advice.

He falls quiet, mulling over what I just said. Maybe I can finally get him off my back.  
"What am I supposed to do now? If she doesn't want me, then what?" He says, sounding defeated.  
"God, you big cry baby." I snap, I get up and drag him into the small bathroom in the trailer. I push him in front of the mirror.  
"Look.. Go on, look!" I shove his arm forcefully "You are an extremely handsome guy. I bet there are millions of women who would be dying to go out with you. And yeah, it's not the one you want. But when it's never going to be, you need to move on." I should become a therapist if the whole writing thing doesn't work out.  
He looks at himself, runs his fingers through his hair, he sighs.  
'_Man, actors are so dramatic!_' I think rolling my eyes.

Suddenly there's a knock on the door, and one of the cute DA's enters. (directors assistant)  
"Mr Oliver?" She asks, shyly "We need you in the wardrobe department, for your fittings."  
She blushes a little at him, grinning to herself, his handsome nature is clearly affecting her. Beck notices and smiles a lopsided grin. He glances at me, I give him the nod to go for it. He smiles at me and begins to follow her out. He stops at the door.  
"I can't say, that you and I will ever be 'friends' but... I'm sorry. I'm not really the arsehole you think I am. And as much as it pains me to say this, look after Tori." He says, before walking out the door.  
"Oh, Beck?" I call out.  
He puts his head back through the door.  
"And stop staring at me through the window, it's creepy." I give him a raised eyebrow.  
He blushes heavily, knowing I'd caught him, he nods and walks away.  
I hear the DA say, "You can stare me through the window anytime you want."  
So after that, he became rather civil towards me. He was entirely grateful, that he didn't have to wear the wig or dye his hair. Kim and Jack were both surprised at his turn around, they both pestered me to know what happened, and I simply replied "I'm secretly Dr Phil." And walked away leaving them very confused.

Which brings me back to now and the rather uninvited surprise in my hotel room.  
"SURPRISE!"  
"Ahhh!" I sit up in bed quickly, to see two happy faces looking at me.  
"What?...How?...When did..." I try hard to put two words together, in my incoherent state "Where are my scissors?" I finally spit out.  
The two faces break out into happy laughter at my dazed and confused state.  
"Hey Jade!" The redhead squeaks, while the brunette gazes at me happily.  
"What the hell are you two doing here?" Finally gathering enough brain capacity to speak.  
"Gosh, you're grumpy in the morning." Tori says, smugly.  
I growl at her, "How did you's get in here?"  
Cat playfully shoves me in the shoulder, "Please, Jade. She's Tori Vega, they'll let her in anywhere."  
I lay back and cover my face with my blankets, "If I go back to sleep, maybe they'll go away." I grunt to myself.  
I hear Tori giggle, knowing I wasn't always the best morning person.  
"Cat, can you go and buy Jade a large coffee, it might help improve her mood." She asks, Cat.  
"Surrreee, a coffee will help her mood." Cat says, loudly "Are you sure it's not that you want to help 'improve' her mood? If you know what I mean!" Winking at Tori.  
"CAT!" Tori scolds, I suppress a giggle.  
She jumps off the bed with glee and runs over to the door, grabbing my room key as she went.  
"Ok, I'll be gone no more than 15 minutes. I want all clothes to back on by the time I get back." She giggles, before running out the door.

Tori pulls the covers off my face.  
"Hi." She smiles, deciding to lay down next to me.  
"You know, how you ask me to describe what you're like on your sleeping tablets?" I ask.  
"Yeah"  
"You're just like Cat." I say, smirking.  
"What!" Tori's face looks horrified.  
"Yeah, all perky and giggly. With like a huge burst of energy and then you pass out." I laugh.  
"OMG! No!" She covers her face, ashamed.  
I laugh at her, kind of realising how much I'd missed her in flesh the last six weeks.  
"So, what are you doing here?" I ask, a little bluntly.  
"Ah, Jade. Always to the point." She sighs.  
"You did sneak into my hotel room and wake me up, though, I should be used to it by now." I yawn.  
"Well, I thought it might be nice to come visit you. I have a break between the awards circuit, so here I am." She smiles, happily.  
"And you thought bringing Cat was a good idea?" I raise my brow.  
"Well, it wasn't my brightest idea." She admits.  
"I'll say." I mumble.

She reaches down and grabs my hand. Holding it in hers, while she circles on it with her thumb. We stay quiet for a while, enjoying the comfortable silence.  
"Have you missed me, Jade?" She asks me, after a while.  
"Have I missed you invading my personal space, my apartment and my bed, you mean?" I ask, seriously.  
"Yeah." She answers, turning her head to grin at me.  
"Well, it has been nice going to bed and waking about with the same amount of occupants, you know until this morning." I glare at her, playfully "How did you get in anyway?"  
"We checked in late last night, found out what room you were in and this morning, I bribed the house maid with an autograph and a photo to let us in." She admits, truthfully.  
"Jesus, I swear the lengths you go to just to get near me is ridiculous." I laugh "Do I need to get a restraining order out against you?"  
She laughs her melodic laugh, the one I've heard so many times before and one it seems I never get sick of hearing.  
"Wow, I hope not." She rolls over and whispers in my ear "Or I'll never get the chance to fulfill that promise of mine."  
A light flush runs across my cheeks, knowing exactly which promise she's talking about.  
"Promises, promises Vega." I sigh, with a dramatic effect.

She gets a little closer to my face, our noses are almost touching. She smiles, gazing deep into my eyes.  
"Well, maybe I can do something about that." She purrs.  
My lady parts jump to attention, as our lips graze across each other.  
"I hope you guys have all your clothes on!" Cats voice bellows into the room.  
We jump apart quickly and see Cat stumbling in with one hand over her eyes and a large coffee in the other.  
"Did you put Jade in a better mood? Can I open my eyes? I don't want to see lady sex this early in the morning." She says, still covering her eyes.  
Tori gives me a strained yet sympathetic look, before covering her face with a slightly amused groan.  
"She has amazing timing." She mutters to me.  
"You brought her." I reply quietly.  
"Guys! Are you's making out? Seriously someone answer me." Cat cries.  
I laugh at the poor girl, so get up and grab the coffee.  
"Thanks Cat." I say before walking off into the bathroom to change.  
I hear Cat whisper loudly "So, did you guys do it?"  
"CAT!" Tori yells, throwing a pillow at her.  
I smile to myself, they might be completely crazy, but maybe I needed crazy in my life.


	6. The Morning After Chaos

**Authors notes- Hey guys, sorry this chapter took so long. Life got in the way. I hope you all enjoy, I think I'll be posting one more chapter after this.**

* * *

Breathing in the aroma of coffee, I begin to relax. It's been about two months since Jack's movie wrapped and thanks to him, I've landed another job. I decided to take Kim's advice and get out more. So, I started to inhabit a local coffee shop. I've become so much of a regular, that I don't even need to ask for my order and they make sure my favourite table is always ready. The owner of the shop, a sprightly old lady in her 70's, has grown accustomed to my presence.

"Good morning, dear." She smiles, as she brings over my second coffee for the morning.  
"Morning, Mrs G." I respond, looking up from my laptop, "Thank-you." I say, as she sets the coffee down.  
"A lot of paparazzi out there for this time of the morning." She comments, as she looks at through the front window.  
I look up and see what she's talking about. It's seems there's more than the usual TMZ floating around. I'd been here since the place opened at six, I guess I hadn't noticed them this morning.  
"I wonder who they're here for..." Mrs G wonders out loud.  
"Who knows, I pity the poor person. There seems to be heaps of them out there." I reply, before turning my attention back to my laptop.

Mrs G continues on with her day's work, bustling around the tables as her barristers make the coffee for the many people who visit. Most of them this morning, seem very interested by the commotion happening outside. Two girls, about 19, sit at a table near me. The first one blonde, the second brunette. They begin to have a very animated discussion about why the paparazzi were waiting out the front.  
"Oh, my, God! Did you hear who they're waiting for?" The first girl, exclaims.  
"No! Tell me!" The other, gushes.  
"Well, you know Tori Vega, right?" The first one begins, my ears prick up.  
Tori's not here, she's in New York right now. Why would they be waiting for her?  
"Yeah, what about her?" She asks.  
"It turns out she's dating someone." The blonde one responds "and they're in here!"  
I frown '_What are they talking about?_'  
"Really? Is it that Beck Oliver, guy? He's so dreamy." The brunette one, sighs, looking around hopeful.  
"No, that's the thing. She's dating a screenwriter." The first one says, a little confused.  
"Why's that weird?" The second asks, looking at her friend's face.  
"Coz it's a girl! Always pegged Tori down as straight, but hey, good for her." The blonde explains, as the brunette looks extremely surprised.  
'_Uh oh!_' I think, sinking down in my chair.  
"I wonder if she is actually in here." The blonde one leans in and whispers to her friend, looking around, "Well, that's what the TMZ guy said anyway."  
I immediately close my laptop and hide my hard copy script. I pull out my phone. I pull up TMZ's web page and there it is.

**TORI VEGA HAS A NEW GIRLFRIEND, BUT, WHO IS SHE?**

"Fuck!" I whisper to myself, "Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!"  
I quickly dial Tori's number. I know she's busy with finishing a press tour, but if she doesn't know about this yet, she's going to be bombarded. I glance at the time, it's 8am here, so it's lunchtime there and her first interview is at one. She decided to start with the late night talk shows first, hopefully I can catch before she gets there. The phone begins to ring.  
"_Hey Jade!_" She answers.  
"Have you seen what TMZ have been posting?" I don't even bother saying hello.  
"_No, I had a late sleep in, why?_" She asks, yawning.  
"Please look... now!" I demand, but quietly, trying not to draw attention to myself.  
I hear Tori start typing away on her phone, it takes less than a minute before I hear a large gasp.  
"_What the hell?_" She gasps.  
"There's about ten paparazzi stand outside the coffee shop I'm in. How do they even know me?" I ask, keeping my voice very low, "We're not even dating yet."  
"_Yet?_" She says, huskily.  
"Focus, Vega!" I hiss.  
"_Sorry, it's just, when I get back from this press tour, I'm locking myself in your apartment and shutting off my phone._" Her husky voice floats through the phone.  
"So, you can finally make a move without your annoying friends interrupting?" I smirk, losing my focus.  
She giggles and whispers into the phone, "Something like that."

I grin to myself at the prospect of that happening, but I'm brought back to reality when I glance up at the window. The group of paparazzi seems to be growing.  
"Well, that doesn't help my current situation. How do you propose I get out of the coffee shop without drawing attention to myself?" I hiss, "I can't stay here all day."  
"Don't you normally?" Tori counters.  
"Don't go throwing your logical arguments at me. I have a huge problem here." I whine, trying to keep my voice low.  
"_I don't know!_" She says, concerned "_Maybe sneak out the back!_"  
"Jesus Christ! And how do you propose I get back to my car? They're all right in front of it." I shake my head at her idea, looking out the window at my car now surrounded by people with cameras, "You're no help!"  
She giggles down the phone "_Now you understand how I feel every time I leave my apartment_."  
"Which is why I usually don't leave mine!" I growl.  
"_Oh, Jade! You're so dramatic! You'll be ok, just be your grumpy, scary self and they'll leave you alone._" She says, reassuringly.  
"You're lying!" I reply, frowning.  
She sighs, slightly amused "_Yep! You're screwed!_"  
"Well, there's only one way out." I sigh, grumpily.  
"_I wish I could help you, babe._" Tori says, sympathetically.  
"Don't butter me up with cute pet names now!" I growl, as I shove my laptop into my bag and swing it over my shoulder.  
"_Oh, but I know how you love it when I call you them. Don't you, Jadeikins?" _She teases.  
"I'm hanging up on you now." I say, as I make my way through the coffee shop, dreading what I'm about to face, "You better have bail money if I get arrested!"  
"Good luck. I promise I'll make it up to you!" She says, with an air of guilt.  
I simply grunt before hanging up.

I stand uneasily by the door, Mrs G comes up behind me.  
"They're waiting for you, aren't they, dear?" She asks, concerned.  
"Apparently." I gulp.  
I don't usually scare that easily, but standing here, readying myself for an onslaught of photographers and reporters, I've never been more terrified. 5 metres, that's all I  
have to do, walk 5 metres, to my car and get in and drive away. I hold my keys at the ready, hoping my scissors are still in my left pocket, you know, just in case.  
"Dear, you don't have to go out there. I can call the police." Mrs G offers.  
I smile at her, she's so kind. I normally hate people like this, but with her, I love it.  
"Thanks, Mrs G, but I can handle it. I think." Mutter the last part.  
She pats me on the arm, wishing me luck. I step forward and open the door, bracing myself for what's about to come.

I step out onto the sidewalk, it's like a wall of noise and lights. '_Just get to the car, Jade!_' I think, pushing forward.  
"Miss West! Miss West!" They shout all around me.  
"Is it true you and Tori Vega are dating?" Another shouts.  
"Did she really fly into Arizona to see you?" Says another.  
The lights continue flashing, I'm three metres away from my car. '_Keep going, Jade you're almost there!_' I tell myself.  
"Is it true you broke her and Beck Oliver up?" One shouts from behind me, I push forward.  
It's becoming harder to see due to all the flashing in my eyes, I click my car unlocked and try to get in. One photographer tries to get in my way.  
"Come on, love. Answer us a few questions." He says, holding my door closed.  
"Get away from my car." I say, calmly, glaring my best glare.  
"We just want to know..." Comes another voice.  
"NO!" I scream.  
It startles the photographers around me long enough for me to get in the car. Now the problem is, do I run over them or sit here? I start the car up, no paparazzi is going to scare Jade West. I rev the car, warning them I'm about to pull out. They start to move away, running to their own cars and modes of transport. I pull out onto the road, knowing it's going to be a long drive home.

* * *

I slam the door shut and stomp into my apartment. Two hours! Two, fucking, hours it took me to shake them fuckers. How the hell do celebrities do it? Honestly! I've decided to never leave my apartment again. I'll just video chat everyone for the rest of my life. I dump my stuff on the couch. I'm exhausted and it's only 11 in the morning. I throw myself down next to my stuff and breathe a sigh of relief. I hope that never happens again, but the problem now is, how the hell do they even know about me?

*knock knock knock

"Jade! Jade, are you there?"  
It sounds like Cat. I haul myself off the couch and answer the door. She bursts in like a red whirlwind. Her arms go straight around my middle and hold me fast.  
"Why is this happening?" I sigh, wondering why she felt it necessary to hug me all the time.  
"I've been so worried. Tori called me to go get you from that coffee shop and when I got there the owner said you left, and I've been driving around everywhere to find you." She explodes with words "Then, I saw them chasing you on TMZ, and I just had to find you.."  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa Cat. Ease up. I'm ok." I calm the woman, trying hard to pry her from my middle, she seems even more emotional than usual.  
"Are you sure? They didn't hurt you or anything?" She asks, worriedly.  
"No Cat, I'm fine, really." I promise, as I finally remove her arms.  
I walk into the kitchen and grab a glass of water. I sit down at the bench and take a sip.  
"How do they even know who I am?" I ask Cat.  
"I read the article, it says some of the locals, where you were filming, told some reporters." Cat answers.  
"Great!" I grumble, setting the glass back down.  
"Tori's getting a lot of questions thrown at her too. She rang me again about half an hour ago. It seems to be the top story."  
"Awesome." I groan, that was the absolute last thing I wanted to happen.  
"I don't know what's the issue, you guys are together, right?" Cat frowns.  
"Cat, we're not together. We joke about it all the time, but no, we're not together." I laugh a little at Cat, but with a tinge of sadness.  
"Phooey!" Cat pouts.

* * *

Cat decides to hang out at my place for the rest of the day, the girl is like the plague, I couldn't get rid of her. I got no work done and I had to hear her loud perky voice all day long, at least she made dinner, though she barely ate any of it. Eventually, around 9.30 she finally leaves.  
"Bye Cat." Practically pushing her out the door.  
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?" She asks again, for the eleventh time.  
"I'm sure Cat, I'm perfectly ok on my own, and I don't need a Red Haired chaperone." I say, as I give her one last push out the door.  
"Ok, but if you need anything, call me." She says, trying to get back in.  
"I'll be fine, good night!" I call, shutting the door.

I sigh with relief as I hear the door click and I hear her walk away. I walk into my room and collapse on my bed. I'm more exhausted than I've been in ages. I get comfortable and close my eyes, but after about an hour I realise sleep was not about to come. I get up frustrated.  
"I'm so exhausted, that I can't sleep." Even saying it out loud sounded stupid.  
I walk into the kitchen, yawning as I go. I start randomly opening up cupboards and merely staring, trying to distract myself. It was then when I spot something interesting.  
A small white bottle in the top cupboard above the sink. It's Tori's bottle of Ambien. I took them from her the last time she ended up here because of them. I take the bottle and look at it.  
'_It's a bad idea, Jade. Look what happens to Tori when she takes them._' My inner voice says.  
"Yeah, but I'm not Tori. I won't turn into a perky bubble of joy and break into people's apartments." I argue.  
'_That's because you're generally a grumpy person. Who knows what will happen._' It fires back.  
I yawn again, I'm so tired, but I still can't sleep. I look back at the bottle. I go and grab my keys, check that the door is locked and go throw my keys in the freezer.  
"There! I won't be leaving the apartment." I congratulate myself on a great plan.  
I open the bottle and take one of the pills and walk myself back to bed, thoroughly glad that the day is finally over and I'll be getting a very solid night's sleep.

* * *

My eyes flutter open, I look around groggily, wondering what day it is. My room is dark and comforting. I sit up, it takes a few moments for my brain to catch up with the rest of me.  
"Well, I didn't do anything stupid." I smirk, as I lay back down.  
Suddenly, my curtains fly open and the outside light floods my room.  
"That's where you're wrong."  
I sit up quickly, I hiss at the streaming light. I let my eyes adjust to the light, before I see a huge beaming smile. I frown at her, I'm extremely confused. She seems to be enjoying my confusion. She walks over and sits beside me.  
"Hi." She smirks.  
"Shouldn't you be in New York?" I ask, when my brain finally comprehends the situation.  
"Well, I flew home early, because I was worried about you." She says, grabbing my hand, "You know, after yesterday."  
"Ok, so the part about me doing something stupid?" I grimace, though slightly touched that she was worried about me.  
"It wasn't exactly stupid, rather cute and endearing." She sighs, happily.  
'_Cute and endearing!_' I think horrified.  
Tori, seeing the horrified look on my face, grins. She just watches me for a few moments more, enjoying the hold she now has on me.

"Just tell me what I did!" I finally shout.  
"Sorry." She laughs "I see why you enjoy this so much."  
"Vega!" I growl.  
"Ok, ok. I had just turned down our street when you rang me last night." She begins.  
"Why did I call you?" I frown, wondering when the hell I called her.  
"To say that you were sorry." She answers.  
"Errr..." I look at her confused.  
"So, I came upstairs, and you were quite emotional." She informs.  
"Emotional? Please tell me, I was angry emotional?" I beg.  
She giggles and shakes her head. I groan and throw myself back down on the bed. I'm not sure I want her to continue, I can see the same sick pleasure on her face that I get when I do this to her.

"You were upset that I copped a lot of questioning about us in my interviews."  
"I was?"  
"You were really upset." She confirms "A lot of tears and hugging."  
"Dear god!" I pull a pillow over my head.  
"It was really sweet, actually." She gushes, still clutching my hand.  
"Remind me to never take one of those damn sleeping pills again." I grumble, promising myself I'd never, ever let myself get that emotional ever again.  
Tori giggles, "Oh no, you were so sweet. You sat me down on the bed and hugged my middle, crying that you'd put me in a terrible situation and afterwards you fell asleep on my lap. Honestly, the cutest thing ever."  
"I'm not cute!" I snap, removing the pillow.  
She lays down beside me, "Oh but, you are." She taps me on the nose.  
I groan at her, something about her tone, gives me the impression she has more than just memories of last night.  
"You have pictures too, don't you?" I give her a hard look.  
She smiles guiltily at me.  
"Oh no, you are going to delete them!" I demand, sitting up.  
"Oh, please let me keep them, you're just too adorable when you're asleep." She pouts.  
"I am not adorable. I am grumpy, scary and not someone who should be messed with." I say, with an air of threat.  
"But, what if can convince you to let me keep them?" She flutters her lashes at me.  
"I highly doubt that you could, Vega." I scoff at her.

She then takes me by surprise, she swiftly sits up and straddles me, forcing me back down on the bed. She gives me an impish grin, before clutch my wrists and forces them above my head. She leans forward, biting her lip as she does. She kisses my neck, nuzzling in. I let out involuntary moan as her lush lips suckle at my neck.  
'_She's playing dirty!_' I think, struggling against her hold.  
Her lips begin to work their way up to my own. She grazes my lip, giving them a nip. I growl at her, now needing her to be closer, but her hold on me stays strong. She's defiantly stronger than she looks. Finally, she kisses me, lightly at first. Like little feathered kisses, but they begin to deepen, this continues for about a minute. My body is reacting to her touches, everything seems to be on fire. It was then, I notice her hands had left my wrists. They begin to travel up my sides, she cups my left breast. Squeezing it gently, feathering her touches, making me need more. Everything seemed to spin as she continues her advances, when she suddenly stops.

"What are you doing?" I pant.  
"Can I keep the photos?" She asks, sweetly.  
"Yes, ok. You won." I roll my eyes, knowing I had been defeated.  
"Great." She leans back in, seemingly to continue, "Let's go get some food!"  
She jumps off me and struts out the room, leaving me stunned and really turned on.  
"You know, you can't give me a lady boner every time you want something." I shout, half frustrated, half impressed.  
"Sure I can." She shouts back, "Do you want Chinese or Pizza?"  
"That's not what I want to be eating right now!" I growl, getting up and walking out into my living area.  
"Too bad, you'll have plenty of time for that later. Right now, I want some food." She says, looking at my huge pile of takeout menus.  
"Do I have any choice?" I sigh, sitting at my bench.  
"Yes, Chinese or Pizza? Have you been listening or has all the blood from your brain gone to your lady parts?" She asks, reading the menus.  
"Hfmp!" I cross my arms, if I didn't like her so much, I'd be really annoyed at her "Fine, pizza!"  
Tori dials the number and begins to walk around the room. I pick up my phone, wondering how it made its way into the kitchen. I see several notifications on my phone.  
"What the hell?" I unlock it. At least ten different messages from friends telling me to check TMZ's website and a series of other tabloid websites. Curiosity getting the better of me, I do. My eyes widen in shock as I see their latest headline.

**TORI VEGA CONFIRMS NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH WRITER JADE WEST**

I look over at Tori ordering pizza and then back to my phone. To say I'm in complete shock, is an understatement. She confirmed it, or maybe TMZ just decided to run with. So I check the other media sites.  
"Tori Vega has a new girlfriend, Tori Vega a lesbian?, Tori Vega is in love." I read off the headlines.  
Tori hangs up the phone "I'm so starving!"  
"Did you confirm that you are dating me?" I ask, dumbfounded.  
"Yeah, why?" She confirms, confused at why I'd ask.  
"When were you going to tell me?" A little surprised that I now have a girlfriend.  
She laughs "Why are you so surprised? We've basically been dating since the first night you moved here.  
She had a point, she burst into my life like cyclone, and never left. I'd never understand why a beautiful, talent movie star could have any interest in me. I mean, sure, I'm sexy as hell (and modest too) but she's Tori Vega and she's now my girlfriend? It may take a while for me to get my head around this.  
"But what if I don't want this?" I frown, questioning her.  
She throws her head back and laughs again, I raise an eyebrow to her response.  
"Why is that funny?" I demand.  
She pulls out her phone and cues up a video.  
"Here." She says, wiping away a tear that escaped from her fit of laughter.

I press play, it's me laying on Tori's lap. She's holding the phone in front of my face and smirks down at me while I mumble. I can see tear tracks on my face. I frown, she didn't only have pictures but videos too. I glare at her.  
"Keep watching." She smirks, gleefully.  
I look back at the screen, my mumblings become clearer.  
"_Tori, I really like you_." I say, though sounding a little distressed.  
"_Do you, Jade?_" Tori asks, trying hard not to giggle.  
"_Yes, I do!_" I begin to get upset.  
"_Why are you upset?_" Tori asks, struggling with her amusement.  
"_Because all those horrible reporters are trying to pry into your life because of me._" I begin to cry a little.  
"_It's ok, I'm not mad about it. They're always doing that, it's a part of my job._" Tori assures me.  
"_I'm really sorry!_" I continue to cry, snuggling closer to Tori.  
I see on Tori's face she both amused and touched by what's happening.  
"_I just wish what they were saying was true..._" I say.  
"_What do you mean?_" Tori frowns, looking down at me.  
"_That I am your girlfriend..._" And with that the Ambien takes full effect on me and I pass out on Tori's lap. The camera pans up to Tori, she's making the 'dawwww' face. The video ends.

I sit for a moment, feeling shocked and a little horrified. I know people do weird shit on sleeping pills, but I never thought I'd act like that. And Tori filmed it, could it get any worse?  
"That's it! I have to kill you now!" I say, setting the phone down.  
"Well, if you do, you'll only have pizza to eat." She flutters her lashes at me.  
I frown at her, she knew I liked her, but now she knows how much.  
"You do want to be my girlfriend, don't you?" She asks, suddenly uncertain.  
I continue to stare at her, I did want to, but I'm going to let this drag out. She holds my stare steady, hoping that my drug addled brain didn't give her false hope. I stand up facing her, keeping my face passive, I reach up and grab the sides of her face and kiss her deeply. I feel her buckle a little, clutching the bench for support. I run my fingers in her hair, pulling it slightly, she moans at the sensation. I pull back, she gasps for breath and stumbles forward.  
"Does that answer your question?" I ask, huskily.  
She grins and kisses me again. I take control, she happily lets me, stumbling our way to the couch. I push her down and this time, I climb on top of her. I continue my assault on her lips, taking my time, letting my hands wander up her body. Feeling her slim waist and roughly grabbing her breast, she gasps as I flick over her sensitive nipples. I let this go on for a little while as she begins to get lost in desire, but it isn't long before I stop. I hear her growl in frustration.

"What?" She demands, as I pull away.  
"Delete the video." I say, simply.  
She squints at me suspiciously.  
"No" she replies.  
"No?" I question, surprised.  
"I'm going to keep it and play it at our wedding." She smirks.  
My eyes widen "Excuse me?"  
She laughs heartedly at my reaction, "That was a joke, Jade. But I'm still not deleting it, I'm not as easily swayed by sexual blackmail."  
"Oh, really?" I ask, thinking 'Challenge accepted'.

*knock knock knock

"Oh, Pizza!" She squeals with glee, shoving me off her and running for the door.  
She answers the door to see a teenage delivery guy. She fumbles around with the money, chatting to the pizza guy like nothing remotely sexual had just happened, despite her ruffled hair. He notices her hair and sees me on the couch, looking a little dishevelled also. He grins to himself.  
"Here you go, and your tip." Tori says.  
"Thanks, but the tip's not necessary." His grin gets wider.  
"Oh?" Tori tilts her head confused.  
"Really, thank you Miss Vega, thank you." He says, excitedly.  
He glances back at me once more and then takes off down the hallway. Clearly he was in for a good night when he finished his shift. I snort to myself.  
"That was weird." She frowns, clearly letting it go over her head.

She comes and sits down with the pizza and begins to eat. I watch her for moment, she is so nice and charming. She's not normally the kind of person I'd fall for, but with her, it's just so different. She fights me on things, but doesn't try to change me. I smile to myself, she's really got to me. I lean over and steal her piece of pizza.  
"Hey!" She shouts.  
"My apartment, means I get first slice, always." I smirk at her, taking a bite.  
She sizes me up, wondering if she could get it back. She just smiles, choosing not to fight this time. She grabs her own slice.  
"You're lucky I love you, or there'd be a massive showdown right now." She says, before taking a bite.  
I stop mid-bite of my pizza, '_she loves me?!_' I think. I glance over at her, she hasn't noticed what's she's said, do I leave it or do I say something?  
She looks over at me, "What?" She asks, with a full mouth.  
I look at her, mouth full of pizza, ruffled sex hair, staring at me like I'm acting like the strangest person on the planet. I realise in this moment, although I don't love her now, I will pretty soon. She had an incredible hold on me and I'm entirely glad I opened my front door to her on that first night.  
"Nothing." I smile, turning my attention back to my pizza.  
"You're so weird." She shakes her head.  
"Yeah, well this weirdo is dating Tori Vega. So, what does that say about her?" I smirk.  
"She must be a good judge a character, even if you are a weirdo." She smiles, taking another bite.

Suddenly, Tori's phone rings. She answers it.  
"Hello...hey Beck, what's up?" She says, picking up her drink and taking a sip.  
"Beck slow down, what happened?" She ask, taking another sip, she then spits it out spraying it everywhere. I watch her, now suddenly very interested in the conversation.  
"What!" She keeps listening.  
"What!" She's seems to be hanging on his every word.  
"WHAT! Well, where the hell is she?" She stands up, yelling into the phone.  
I frown, what could have happened?  
She hangs up the phone, and runs and grabs her coat.  
"Get changed, we have to go find Cat." She says, worried.  
"Why? What happened?" I get up, still eating my pizza.  
She looks back at me, seemingly unable to say it.  
"Tori, what happened?" I ask, now really concerned.  
"She's missing, because she and Beck had a fight." She answers.  
I walk over to her, confused at why Beck and Cat would have a fight.  
"Why?"  
"Cat's pregnant... And it's Beck's!" She answers.  
My eyes widen in shock and I drop my pizza, I foresee another crazy couple months ahead.


	7. The Baby Situation

**Authors Notes - Sorry again for the delay. I had some technical issues with my computer and my brain. Meaning I had major writers block. I hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

* * *

We're driving, where to, I have no idea. Tori is just directing me in between her frantic phone conversation. We drive through the streets of Hollywood, going to areas I've never seen before, but then again, I don't get out much.  
"Explain all this to me again, Beck. Because I'm a little confused to how this happened." Tori demands. She puts the phone on speaker so she can continue texting people to figure out where Cat could be.  
"_I told you, we got a little drunk in Arizona and one thing led to another, and we hooked up._" Beck explains, though sounding extremely guilty.  
"So, you're telling me, when we came to visit Jade, you took advantage of Cat!" She yells.  
"_I didn't take advantage! We had too much to drink, Tori. What more do you want me to say?_" He fires back.  
"Jade, take this exit." She says to before launching her assault back at Beck "When did you's two even have time for this, Cat was with me pretty much the whole time!"  
"Ain't that the truth." I grumble, Tori hits me in the arm.  
"_Look, Tori, we went out one night and we drank too much, end of story._" He bites.  
"End of story? Beck, she's pregnant. This story is going to continue for the rest of your life. And what now? Are you going to be together?"  
"_I don't know, alright! I'm very confused right now._" He groans.

I roll my eyes, typical male, plants his seed, then acts confused about how it happen.  
"Confused! What the hell is there to be confused about? You had sex with Cat and now she's pregnant. It's pretty black and white, Oliver!" Tori yells, "turn left here." She mutters.  
"_I was still confused, because of my feelings for you. I still have them..._" He starts, my face scowls automatically.  
"Oh, don't turn this around on me, Beck Oliver! You know very well I've never had any interest in you, so don't pull that shit with me!" Tori snaps.  
As I continue driving, I make a mental note to never make Tori this angry, she is great at arguing. If this wasn't a phone call, I'm sure Tori would have attacked Beck by now.  
"_It's not like I wanted any of this Tori. This is not how I planned for things to turn out._" He snaps, angrily.  
"You'd better hope she hasn't done anything stupid." And with that she hangs up on him.  
"Are you ok?" I ask, tentatively.  
"No. No one seems to know where she is." She stresses.  
"So, where am I driving to?" I ask.  
"The only place I could think she could be." She says, cryptically, "Turn in here."  
We pull into an empty car park, it appears to be a school.  
"Hollywood Arts." I read out loud, "Isn't this where you went to school?"  
"Yes, Cat loved this school more than anything. She once ran away from her aunt and uncle's and lived here for a few weeks. If she's anywhere, she's here. I just know it." She says, though she sounded like she was praying that she was right.  
We get out of the car and walk up to the front doors.

* * *

We wander the halls, I'd never seen a school quite like it. I know, I went to a preforming arts school, but it didn't seem to explode with colour like this one. It was like the school was on a series of different drugs, it's a lot to take in.  
"Aren't we going to be in trouble for breaking into a school?" I wonder.  
"Since when do you care about getting into trouble?" Tori asks, with a raised brow.  
"I don't, but the headlines 'Tori Vega and new squeeze get arrested for breaking into a high school' doesn't sound like it would be good publicity for either of us." I reason.  
Tori snorts, "We'll be fine. I guarantee she will be in Sikowitz's classroom."  
"What's a psycho-wittz?" I pull a weird face, wondering what the hell she's talking about.  
"With an S Jade, Sikowitz was our favourite teacher. Although, now that I think about it, he was crazy." She says, thoughtfully.  
"So, you really think she's here?" I ask, continuing to gaze around.  
"Yeah, I do."  
"I just have one question, how is Cat going to have a kid? She still a kid!" I remark. Even though Cat's almost 23, she's still way too immature to be having a child.  
"Come on Jade, don't be like that. Cat'll make a great mum, she used to babysit kids all the time." Though she didn't sound convinced.

We round another corner, Tori stops at the second door on the right. She peers through the window in the door and sighs. She opens the door and walks in, I follow suit. Once inside, I see a small stage, with a small redheaded woman laying upon it, her back towards the door. Tori rushes over to her.  
"Cat! Are you ok?" She kneels behind her and starts rubbing circles on her back.  
I stand on the stage stairs and look down at Cat. She appears to have been crying, but now just looks exhausted. My face falls at the sight, as annoying as Cat is, I'm really quite fond of her and it hurts me to see her like this.  
"I'm pregnant." She says, simply.  
"We know..." Tori begins, before Cat interrupts.  
"How can I have a kid, I am a kid!" She cries, covering her face.  
I hit Tori in the arm and point at Cat, "See!" I mouth at Tori, pointing out that I literally just said that. Tori hits my hand away, "Shut up!" She mouths back. We momentarily have a girly slap hand fight, while I try to point out that I'm right and she tries to shut me up.

"Guys, what am I going to do?" She rolls over, we immediately freeze our slapping fight and try to look normal.  
"Cat, it's not the end of the world. You love kids." Tori reasons.  
She sits up and grabs Tori, "But, I can't raise a baby on my own!" She cries.|  
I frown, '_On her own?_' I think.  
"Wait, what do you mean on your own?" I ask, letting my scowl deepen, "Beck is going to help you, right?"  
Cat shakes her head, "I don't think so, he seemed pretty mad when I told him. He yelled at me, said that it was my fault and that, this could ruin his career. I get the feeling he doesn't want anyone to know." She hangs her head.  
"Do you want me to beat him up?" I ask Cat, half serious.  
Cat stands up quickly, "Would you, Jade? Oh, please!" She claps her hands together and presses them to her head, as if she's praying.  
"Cat!" Tori scolds, standing up.  
"Well, why shouldn't she?" Cat bites back, "I can't do it and I just know Jade's been itching to do it anyway!" She pleads. I smirk, she was kind of right.  
"I don't think beating up Beck is the right solution for this. Maybe if we just talk to him..." Tori begins.  
"About what, Tori? I'm pregnant to the guy who's still in love with my best friend who happens to be a lesbian!" She shrieks, as she points at both of us, "Literally, the best idea I have is to have Jade go beat the crap out of him, because at least it'll make me feel a little bit better!"  
Both Tori and I look a little stunned by her angry outburst. At this point, Cat starts crying "I'm sorry Tori, I didn't mean to yell at you! You're my best friend and I..." The rest of her sentence becomes inaudible as her crying turns to sobs. She lets herself drop back down to the ground, Tori and I throw each weird looks, it seems Cat's hormones are even more unstable.  
'_This should be fun._' I think to myself.

I sit beside Cat, "Hey, listen. It'll be alright. You have options."  
Cat looks up at me through her tears, "Options?"  
"Yeah, well there's abortion, if you really don't think you can do any of this." I begin, getting the toughest option out of the way. Cat's hands fly to her mouth and her eyes widen in fear.  
"What's next?" She cries.  
"There's adoption. There are so many couples out there who can't have kids." I continue.  
"You mean, I'd never see it again?" She asks, looking even more horrified than the last option.  
I nod mutely. She looks down at her belly, which really hasn't even start to show yet. She shakes her head.  
"Any more?" She looks at me pleading.  
"You raise your baby." I say, simply.  
"By myself?" She asks, uncertainly.  
"No, Cat. You won't be by yourself, you'll have me." Tori says, sitting down on the other side of Cat.  
"I will?" Cat starts to tear up again.  
"I know, I won't be able to be there all the time, but I promise I'll be there as much as I can. You're my best friend, I'd do anything for you." Tori smiles.  
Well, that did it, Cat's tears start following more than the Amazon River after a storm. She launches herself on Tori and wails her little heart out, almost knocking Tori backwards. I giggle watching Tori struggle to contain Cat.

All of a sudden, a man wearing ratty clothing and drinking a coconut, walks into the room.  
"Ahhh!" He shouts in surprise.  
"Ahhhh!" Shout all three of us.  
I jump up, thinking it was a homeless person.  
"Hey!" I shout, "Get out!"  
The men looks offended "And may I ask who this is, Tori?"  
I look surprised that this man knew Tori. I look back at Tori, she's struggling to get out of Cat's grip.  
"No, Jade. It's ok! Sikowitz help me, please." She pleads the man.  
He promptly walks over and tickles Cat, she starts laughing and let's go. Tori gets up and sees my very concerned face at the unfolding situation.  
"Jade, really, it's ok. This is our old teacher, Sikowitz." She explains.  
"Who are you calling old?" Sikowitz frowns, offendedly.  
"Sikowitz, this is my girlfriend, Jade West." Tori continues.  
The man looks at me interested, like I was some sort of exciting school project. It's creeping me out a bit.  
"I see" He nods, he begins circling me "Black clothing, comfortable with one's self or still trying to rebel, either way, she's good with a statement. Mm-hm, quite pretty, a little rough around the edges, but incredibly tough." I scowl, he's evaluating me.  
"I approve!" He suddenly shouts, causing me to jump a little.  
Tori smiles and clutches my arm, "Thanks Sikowitz."

"Now, what are you three doing here? Were you looking for another lesson in squwaddling? You were rather a scatterbrain the day I taught it." He peers at Tori intently.  
"What is squwaddling?" I ask, becoming more and more confused as the situation went on.  
"No, don't..." Tori grimaces.  
"SQUWADDLING! Is a form of ACTING!" He begins, rather loudly and passionately, "Where the actor both squats and waddles at the same time while preform their scene." He explains.  
"Why would anyone do that?" I ask, this man is a nut job.  
"Why not?" He smiles at me.  
I decide there is no point asking anymore questions.  
"We came to find Cat." Tori interjects.  
Sikowitz spins and looks at Cat, "Ran away again, did we?"  
Cat looks offended "No! I am nearly 23 years old, I do not runaway. I simply took an emotional hiatus from reality."  
"Why? Is your brother in town?" Sikowitz questions.  
"No, he's still in that 'special hospital'." She uses air quotes.  
"Then, what's the matter?" He puts his hand to his mouth, questioningly.  
Cat suddenly looks sad again, she hangs her head, "I'm pregnant."  
"Wow! I didn't know Robbie had it in him." The teacher remarks, happily.  
Tori clears her throat, Sikowitz looks over, Tori shakes her head.  
"Not Robbie's. Well, that's not surprising, he didn't really have that get up and go spirit that Beck had." He babbles.  
Cat lets out a sob, to which Sikowitz looks concerned, he turns back to Tori. She gives him a look. It suddenly hits Sikowitz, he makes a giant O with his mouth.

Cat drops herself back down to the floor. She starts muttering to herself, with a few tears. Sikowitz looks a little shocked.  
"Beck?" He mouths. Tori and I nod.  
"Wow!" He mouths again. He walks closer to us, while watching Cat.  
"So, why is she so upset?" He whispers, "Beck is, well, Beck!" Implying how good looking he is.  
"He doesn't want it." I mutter "Wants her to keep it quiet, coz he still has feelings for this one." I point to Tori.  
"Yes, he always was ambitious about girls. But, to do this to Cat, sweet little Cat, I would have never expected that of him." He looks disappointed.  
Sikowitz walks over and sits next to Cat. He puts his arm around her, comforting her.  
"Don't be so glum, Cat."  
"I don't know what to do, Sikowitz!" She cries "I'm still a child. I can't do this..." Her sobs take over.  
"Cat, I won't deny you are a little on the childish side." Sikowitz admits "But, you'll make a great mother."  
Cat looks up through her tears, "You really think so?"  
"Cat, I remember a certain young girl who juggled school, a babysitting business and still had time to hang out with her friends. She graduated high school with full marks, passed all her extra make up courses at the top of her class, and now she has her own make up business. She's now a make up artist to many celebrities." He smiles down at her "You've made me very proud, Miss Valentine."  
"I have?" She asks.  
He nods, "You are certainly no child, Cat. You're simply just an adult, with whimsical tendencies." He says, with a twinkle in his eye, "Any child would be lucky to have you as their mother." Cat reaches over and hugs the man.

Tori and I watch on, the man my look crazy as all hell, but he's certainly really wise.  
"And just think, there'll be another red velvet cupcake running around." He remarks, picking up pieces of Cat's hair.  
'_Ok, maybe not that wise!_' I think, shaking my head.  
Cat stands up, "I'm ready to go home now." She says, to the both of us, clearly feeling better after speaking with her old teacher.  
"Good." Tori says, she walks over and hugs her "And don't worry, we'll get this all straightened out."  
"Thanks, Tori." She hugs her back.  
"Well, it always nice to see you's two and Jade, it was wonderful to meet you. But now I have to go put Vaseline on all of Helen's doorknobs." Sikowitz says.  
"Is that what you're doing here on a Saturday?" Tori asks, shaking her head.  
"Yes, she stole my tuna fish sandwich the other day. So, naturally, the only mature thing I could think to do, is to but Vaseline on her door handles." Explaining his reasoning, like it was the most normally thing in the world and not completely insane. Tori and Cat nod along, seemingly sympathising with the crazy old man.  
"Oh! I know, put lotion under all the handles of her filing cabinet as well." Cat suggests, fuelling the craziness.  
"Right, so when she opens her drawers, she'll get another ooey, gooey surprise. An A for effort, Miss Valentine." He remarks, Cat seems pleased with herself, "Now, where to find lotion?"  
"Ah, Lane's office." Tori rolls her eyes, I have never been more confused in my life, what's a lane's office and why is there lotion there?  
"YES! Of course. Excellent work, Miss Vega, as always." He pretends to tip his cap, "I've always wondered why a man would have that much lotion..." He looks to the ceiling thinking "Honestly, it's always baffled me." Shaking his head.  
Tori and Cat stare at Sikowitz, looking just as baffled. I look at them, my look of confusion seems to be permanently plastered on my face. Literally, the only thing I understood out of that conversation is why a man would have lotion. I mean, come on! Pun intended!  
"Anyway, I have shenanigans to proceed with. Come visit me again another time, ladies!" He bows and exits stage left.

"Are you ok, Jade?" Tori asks, with a giggle.  
"What just happened?" I ask, still not grasping what just happened.  
"He's like a whirlwind, you never can tell what he's going to do." Tori pats me on the shoulder "My first day, I gave him $2."  
"Why?"  
"I thought he was homeless." She grins, guiltily.  
"Oh, good. That's what I thought." I exhale in relief. Both Cat and Tori giggle.  
"He could use a makeover." Cat muses "Oh, I should ask him if I could do it for him one day."  
I smile, seeing the old Cat returning. Though, I was still not sure how we were going to fix the situation at hand. From my experiences with Beck Oliver, he can be as stubborn as a mule. As much as I think he's being an arse for doing this, I can kind of understand why. You work so hard and one little mistake can just ruin it. But still, Cat's his friend, one of his best friends, how could he just shun her away like that. It's not a petty fight, it's a baby. I sigh, feeling incredibly sorry for Cat. We all turn to leave, walking out into the hall. The random colours and graffiti still blowing me away.  
"Your school looks like its on drugs." I comment, to Tori, who's beside me with Cat trailing behind.  
"Yeah." She sighs, proudly, "It was a fun place to go to school."  
We make our way out of the building, still wondering how we were going to fix the baby situation.

* * *

**Authors Notes- Ok guys, I know I said in the last chapter this was going to be the last one, but I don't think it's finished yet. Here is where you guys come in. Since my writers block is becoming more common lately, I want to hear where you want the story to go. We could have an appearance of a crazy ex, Tori's or Jade's. Do we want Cat and Beck to get together or should Robbie stumble into the picture? Tell me what you think and I'll see if I can make it happen. Thanks for loving this story, I never intended on it going this long, but you are all right, it's clearly far from finished. Can't wait to hear from you all.**


	8. The Blast From the Past

**Authors notes- Thanks everyone for the feedback. It really helped with the writers block. I don't know how long it'll last, haha, but lets roll with it. I hope you enjoy the next chapter. Keep giving me your feedback, I'd love to know where you guys want the story to go.**

* * *

"But, I'm still hungry!" Whines a voice from inside my fridge.  
I roll my eyes from my desk, "You've already eaten everything in my apartment, Cat. How much more can you eat?"  
"I'll let you know when I'm full." She says, now looking in the freezer.  
This pregnancy really had her going a little crazy. Well, she was already crazy, but now it's on a whole new level. I see her red head bobbing around my kitchen, trying to find anything edible.  
"There is nothing here. Do you ever go shopping?" She turns around, placing her hands on her hips. Her little five month belly straining against her shirt.  
"Sometimes. But, lately I don't see the point." I say, tapping away on my keyboard.  
"Why?"  
"Because I'm not the one who eats it!" I scold, half-jokingly.  
I hear her groan. She comes over and lays on my couch, rubbing her swollen belly.

It had been a few months since we found out Cat was pregnant. Beck sort of went AWOL. No one's seen or heard from him. Tori seems to think he's in Canada. It makes me really angry that he just left Cat to do this all on her own. Dick move on Beck's account. Though, at this time, I'm not sure Cat even wants to be with him. She seems to be doing fine at the moment. Other than the odd emotional outbursts.

**Random Flashback**

_Cat happily flits around my kitchen, her little belly only now starting to show. Tori watches her from my couch. I can see a small little smile on her face as she watches her best friend cook dinner._

_"Are you sure we can't help you Cat?" Tori asks._

_"No, no. I've got this." Cat sings back._

_Tori smiles, she stands up and wanders over to the desk, where I seem to always be. She slides into my lap. She snuggles into my shoulder. We rarely have a moment to ourselves lately. Between Cat and Tori schedule, it gets hard to find time._

_"When Cat falls asleep tonight, I'm going to sneak over." She purrs._

_"Really?" I ask, trying to sound not overly interested._

_"Mm-hm, I have a surprise that I'm going to do to you." She whispers in my ear._

_"Oh, and what would that be?" I question, though other parts of me started perk up as well._

_"Burning." Tori says._

_"What?" I say, surprised._

_"Something's burning. Cat! Something's burning!" Tori jumps up quickly._

_Cat spins around and sees the food on the stove burning. She squeals and runs over and pulls the pan off the stove and drops it in the sink. She turns the tap on, to cool everything down. Smoke billows out of the sink, setting off the fire alarm._

_Cat looks distressed and begins to cry. She drops to the ground, hugs her knees, letting the tears stream down her face._

_It takes us about ten minutes to clean up and shut off the smoke alarm. _

_"Cat, are you ok?" I ask, bending down to check on her._

_"N..No! I can't do anything right, I'm hopeless!" She cries._

_"It's ok, Cat. No harm done." I reassure her, trying to help her up._

_"I could have burnt your apartment down. You should be really mad at me." She sobs, as I walk her over to the couch._

_"But you didn't, so everything's ok." Tori says, from the kitchen._

_"I just wanted to do something nice for you guys." The tears won't stop flowing._

_I lean in and give her a hug. It feels foreign to me, it's not something I'd usually initiate, but Cat really needed a hug. I can see Tori over Cat's shoulder, giving me a gushy look, knowing this was rare for me. She pulls out her phone and takes a picture. I frown deeply and silently point at her to stop. _

_"OMG, Jade, you're hugging me!" Cat sniffs, before crying even harder "Now, I'm crying for a whole other reason!" _

_Tori starts giggling from the kitchen, while I simply sigh, knowing it's going to be a long evening._

_**End of Flashback**_

I type away at my current script, while trying to ignore the dying sounds coming out of Cat. I suddenly hear an angry growl. I spin my chair around.  
"Was that your stomach?" I question, surprised.  
"Yeeesss!" Cat whines, rubbing her belly.  
"Good lord woman. How can you be hungry? You've eaten enough for three people and that's just since you've been at my house this morning." I shake my head, mildly amused.  
"I'm eating for two, Jade." Cat informs me.  
I roll my eyes, Cat seems to be eating for ten.  
"Oh!" She exclaims.  
"What's wrong?" I quickly stand up.  
"The baby's kicking. Quick, Jade give me your hand." She motions me to hurry up.  
I come over and sit beside her. I awkwardly attempt to touch her tummy. She impatiently tuts and grabs my hand and guides it to the spot where the baby had kicked. Her  
belly is warm, it kind of feels like there's a lot of water in there. She holds my hand there, waiting, then I feel it. A little kick, my eyes widen in surprise, Cat giggles. It was the weirdest feeling.  
"Wow!" I breathe in wonder. It was the first time I'd ever felt a baby kick.  
"It's weird, hey?" Cat laughs.  
"It's like there's a little alien in there." I say, laughing with her.  
She nods "Just don't let me watch the movie Alien."

I lean back on the couch, watching Cat's belly, seeing a little bump every now and then.  
"So, have you told your parents yet?" I ask.  
"Yeah, they're excited. But, they still live in Idaho, my brother's situation kind of keeps them there." She sighs.  
"Yeah, what's up with your brother?" Remembering Cat mentioned he was in a special hospital.  
"Um.. Well, his stay in the 'special hospital' was only supposed to be six months to two years." She starts.  
"Wow, two years?"  
"Yeah, but it's been like 6." She admits.  
"Holy shit. Why?" I ask surprised.  
"He's pretty weird." She says, cryptically.  
I get the feeling she doesn't talk about it often. It's kind of sad she doesn't have much family out here, I guess that's why she and Tori are so close.  
"It's ok, though. I mean, I'd have really loved for this little one to have an uncle who is related to me, but I've got some really good friends that'll be its aunts and uncles." She smiles down at her belly "There'll be Uncle André, Uncle Robbie, Auntie Tori and Auntie Jade."  
My breath hitches in my throat. She wants me to be an auntie to her kid. She sees the apprehension on my face.  
"What?" She frowns.  
"Are you sure you want me to be an auntie?"  
"Of course! Who else is going to teach my baby to be awesome?" She says, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
I smile to myself, a warm fuzzy feeling spread inside me. A feeling I normally hated, but I kind of like it this time.

The front door opens, Tori walks in with a few bags.  
"Hey guys!" She greets us.  
"OMG! Tori! Tell me you have food in there?" Cat gets up as quickly as she can.  
"Have you eaten all of Jade's food again?" Tori tuts.  
"No!" Cat crosses her arms.  
"Yes!" I call from the couch.  
"Well, luckily I thought a head." Tori says, as she pulls out a 2L tub of ice cream.  
"OMG, YES!" Cat yells, quickly grabbing it out of Tori's hands.  
She grabs a spoon, flips the lid and begins to eat. A dreamy look glazes over her face. I smirk and shake my head. I stand up to greet Tori, I peck her on the lips.  
"Hi" she says, with brilliant smile. The smile that seemingly makes me heart melt.  
"Hi" I respond, with a smirk.  
"Can you two stop making sex eyes at each other, and maybe make me some pancakes?" Cat calls from across the kitchen.  
"You know, you have your own house Cat." Tori says, amused.  
"Yeah, but you guys aren't there, so what's the point?" She says, walking back to the couch.  
Tori shakes her head.  
I decide there was no point in arguing with Cat, because quite frankly, pancakes sounded awesome right now.  
"Alright, I'll make some pancakes." I pretend to give in.  
"Yay! Pancakes!" Cat squeals.

I finish mixing the batter, Tori sits at the counter watching me, giving me the same sex eyes Cat just called her out on. When suddenly there's a knock at the door.  
"I'll get it." Tori says, getting up from my counter.  
She opens the door to find a handsome looking man in a suit. He holds himself tall and with a stiff upper lip. Cat looks up from ice cream to see who it is.  
"Hey, can I help you?" She asks.  
"Yes, I'm looking for Jadelyn West." He says, with a proper voice.  
"Um, yeah. She's here. Who are you?" Tori asks, wondering why I'd be associated with anyone this proper.  
"I am Conner Winchester. I'm Jadelyn's fiancé." He announces.  
The voice makes me stop in my tracks, dropping my frying pan. '_No! Why is he here?' _I think angrily. I hear Tori gasp.  
"Oh snap!" Cat whispers from the couch "I did not see that coming!"


	9. The Back Story

**Author's Notes- Hey guys, again I'm sorry for the late update. I have no excuse, I was having pokémon marathons and got distracted. I also choose to rewrite this chapter. It was originally going to a very dark place and I wasn't enjoying writing it, so I took in a different direction, one that I hadn't planned on. I really hope you like it.**

* * *

I'm stunned for a brief moment, but only a brief one, that voice, no, it couldn't be. My shock turns to anger, how dare he come to my house and ask to see me, after what he did. I reach into my left pocket and pull out my trusty scissors. I keep them there so I will always feel protected and I only pull them out when I feel threatened and right now, I feel very threatened. I hold them steady and walk toward the door. It's only a few metres, but it seems like a mile away. I look at Tori, her face is hard to read. I round the door and I see him. But it wasn't him.  
"Kenny!" I shout, annoyed and surprised.  
He breaks into a stupid grin, letting his stiff upper lip fall.  
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I shout, shoving him for good measure.  
"Hey, watch the suit! It's expensive!" He smooths the suit, importantly.  
"You're an arse, you know that." I growl, wondering how I couldn't have fallen for his stupid impersonation again, I forgot how good he was at it.  
I hear a throat clear from been hide me. I turn around, I see Cat and Tori, looking even more confused than ever.  
"This is my stupid younger brother, Kenneth." I say, punching Kenny in the arm.  
"Not your fiancé?" Tori asks, breathlessly.  
"No! And Conner Winchester is my crazy ex and this is not him. If it was, there would be blood all of the floor." I tell Tori, twirling my scissors. I turn back to Kenny, "But, I'm  
not ruling that out with you! Why would you scare me like that?"  
"Just keeping you on your toes." He laughs.  
"You're an arse." My words were repeated, but not by me, by Cat.  
I look over and see an angry little red head, with one hand resting on her little belly and the other on her hip.  
Kenny looks over, I see a slight flush in his ivory cheeks. He gazes at Cat, all of a sudden looking a little guilty. I raise my eyebrows in surprise, my brother never felt guilty about the pranks we pulled on each other.

"I'm sorry?" He stumbles out, brushing his short black hair forward. An old nervous habit.  
"That wasn't very nice. You surprised all of us, and I could have gone into early labour." She scolds him, walking towards the door.  
I smirk, she's not that far along, so she couldn't have. But, my brother wouldn't know that, so Cat could make him feel very guilty right now and I'm going to enjoy every bit.  
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to cause any pro.." He starts to apologise.  
"Well, you could have. And you could have caused problems for these two." She continues, pointing to the two of us. Kenny looks at Tori and I.  
"Do you know how hard I had to work to finally get them together?" She glares at him.  
"Hey!" Tori protests, I frown also, wondering how Cat had a hand in us getting together.  
"And now, you've probably upset Jade with you stupid impersonation." Her glare seems to get icier, as she stops in front of him.  
Kenny looks stunned at being scolded, "I'm really, very sorry. Jade and I sometimes play jokes on each other..."  
"Well, it wasn't very funny!" She snaps "And can someone make me some damn pancakes!" She demands, turning around and looking at Tori and I, her stomach giving an angry growl.  
I walk over to Cat, "Put your claws away, Kitty Cat and go back to your ice-cream. I'll make your pancakes soon."  
She huffs at me and walks back to the couch and picks up the ice cream. Taking a spoonful, while glaring at my brother. I have a feeling she's more angry at the interruption of the making of pancakes than his impersonation of my ex.  
"Ah.. I guess, I'm sorry Jade." My brother says, still confused.  
"Save it. You're lucky I didn't stab you in the throat." I say, dragging him inside and shutting the door, before pocketing my scissors.  
"That's rather aggressive." Tori comments, looking alarmed.  
"My ex is psycho, believe me it would be necessary." I growl.

"Now, why are you here?" I ask my brother.  
"Well, actually, it's about Conner." He says.  
"What about him?" I snap, angrily.  
He throws his hands up defensively, "Calm down, sis! The restraining order is up in about a month." He explains, coming and sitting down at the counter.  
"Restraining order?" Tori questions, "Ok, somebody needs to tell me what's going on."  
I sigh, it was such a bad time in my life that I don't generally talk about it.  
"I told you I had a crazy ex." I say to Tori.  
"Yeah, but you didn't tell me you were engaged or you had a restraining order out on him." She argues.  
I cover my face and groan, not because Tori's asking but, because of how stupid I was to have believed someone like him.  
"Um, Tori.." My brother starts, tentatively "It's really not an easy subject for any of us."  
I go and sit beside my brother, he was right. Conner had fooled all of us. Tori and Cat look at us expectantly, waiting for an explanation.  
"It's kind of a long story..." I begin.  
"Jade, it's ok. I'll tell them, I know you hate talking about it." My brother stops me.  
I was grateful, I hate reliving it. All the lies.  
"Jade was meant to take over West Co. when she graduated from preforming arts school. That was the deal she had with our father. If she and I could went to that school, she would take over. She didn't want it, my father knew that. But he also knew how much potential she had. Though, I was good with the arts, I really wanted to take over the business but he didn't think I had enough 'shark-like' abilities to take over!" He says, rolling his eyes.  
"So, after graduation and turning away several amazing scholarships, Jade started an internship for the company. The board members were not pleased about it..."  
"They didn't want his freaky looking daughter to be their boss!" I growl, Kenny grabs my hand.  
"Several of the senior board members were concerned about Jade's outward appearance." He explains, "My father never really had too much of an issue with it, except the facial jewellery."  
"Ok, so where does this Conner come into it?" Tori asks me.  
"He worked for West Co., he was a few years older than me. That's where I met him." I say, with so much regret.  
"He worked on the executive floor, the youngest person to ever make it through the ranks of West Co. Was he brilliant? Yes. Was he manipulative? Definitely." Kenny continues, "He took a sudden interest in Jade, much to everyone's surprise. He was from a good, upper-class background. Though, we were too, Jade and I had a much more relaxed opinion of the way society worked."  
"He swept Jade off her feet. Wined and dined her. Expensive gifts every other week, most times for no reason. As the months went by, my sister became unrecognisable to us." He looks at me, sadly.

"Why?" Cat asks, suddenly standing behind Tori, still eating her ice-cream.  
I see my brother blush at the sight of Cat, so I answer instead.  
"Because, I guess...*sighs*, I thought he was too good for me and I changed myself to suit him. I never thought I'd ever, change myself for someone, but he was just so manipulative. " I explain.  
"Our father was extremely concerned at the change of my sister." Kenny speaks again, regaining some of his composure, "While, he always wanted Jade to dress in something other than black, but to change herself entirely. He didn't like her changing for someone other than herself."  
I remember my father, while he didn't approve of my tastes, he respected most of them because he knew I was my own person and I was self-reliant. All that changed with Conner.  
"So, you turned into a different person?" Tori asks, sadly. I nodded.  
"It wasn't long before they were engaged. The board was thrilled that Conner was marrying Jade. They convinced our father to have Conner take over instead of Jade, since he was marrying into the West family." Kenny continued, with a bitter tone.  
"Jade was thrilled, she didn't have to be CEO, she was getting married and now, she could pursue her dream of writing. Life couldn't have been better, or so we thought." Kenny shakes his head.  
"What happened?" Cat asks, now totally invested in the story.  
"Um.." Kenny's voice cracks slightly, trying to answer Cat, I smirk at my brother's nervousness.  
"What happened was, my life crumbled around me." I answer, instead, "Conner had been made a fill-in CEO until we were married. It was very exciting for us, so I wanted to celebrate. So, one afternoon I was entering the offices with Kenny, I wanted to surprise Conner. But he surprised us."  
"With balloons?" Cat asks, taking another spoonful of ice-cream. Tori leans her hand over and quietly shushes Cat.  
"No, we walked in on him and his secretary having sex on his desk." Kenny says, finding the deep side of his voice again.  
"SHUT UP!" Cat yells.  
I nod, as does Kenny.  
"What did you do?" Tori asks, just as shocked as Cat.  
"I couldn't do anything, I was stunned. He was surprised to see me, but he didn't take long to launch into some sob story about him being stressed with work and the wedding. If it wasn't for Kenny, taking action and waking me up from that two year coma of Conner, I might have forgiven him." I shake my head, disgusted at my own actions.  
"What did you do?" Cat gazes at Kenny, interestedly.  
"I..*clears throat* I walked over and punched I'm in the face. Nothing gave me greater pleasure than to see his pretty face slightly broken." Kenny answers, with a hint of pride.

"So, he cheated on you?" Tori asks, with slight confusion. I guess she's wondering why there's a restraining order out on him.  
"We found out later, that's not all he'd been doing. He had planned to take over West Co. And get rid of Jade in the process." Kenny's face turns grave.  
Tori's eyes widen in horror, she quickly covers Cats ears.  
"You don't mean kill, right?" She whispers, hurriedly.  
"We're still not 100% sure what his plans were exactly. All we found out, was there was going to be a major change in the company once they were married and Jade would not be in the picture." Kenny answers. Cat shakes Tori's hands off her head.  
"How did you find all this out?" Tori asks.  
"My father was not so easily wooed by Conner, he had put in place that Conner couldn't take over CEO fully while Jade was still alive. They were, initially, co-CEO's. Not the Jade knew that. Dad realised something wasn't right a few weeks after Conner signed the contract, so he had the whole CEO suite wired and bugged with cameras and mics." Kenny explained.  
Cat and Tori listen in rapt silence.  
"We had enough evidence to have him fired and to have a restraining order placed against him. But, unfortunately, that's all we could do. He technically didn't do anything illegal, or hadn't had the chance yet, so we couldn't have him jailed." Kenny finishes, bitterly.  
"And you?" Tori asks me, softly.  
"I had to re-evaluate everything. Somebody took away my identity and made me somebody I didn't know. For all I know, he could have actually gotten rid me also. After, hearing everything, my old self began to awake again. I cut up everything that reminded me of him, all the stupid dresses I wore, tokens and gifts. I destroyed everything." I remember my rage fuel rampage.  
"After about a year, Jack called me and said he needed my help with his movie. Dad agreed it would be better for me to stay away from West Co. He decided, Kenny would take over instead." I finish.  
"Why? Didn't he say you weren't good enough?" Cat asks Kenny.  
His blush returns "I.. Um.." He stutters.  
"Dad thought how Kenny reacted to Conner was rather 'shark-like', and reconsidered." I smirk at my flustered brother.

We sit in silence for a moment, I can see Tori trying to process all this new information, while Cat is simply scraping the bottom of her ice-cream tub. I glance at my brother, he's nervously brushing his short hair forward, while trying to not look at Cat. As handsome as he is, girls always frighten him a little. It's not long before somebody spoke.  
"But, why didn't you tell me all this?" Tori asks.  
I sigh, "I know, I should have. But it's still so raw, I still find it very hard to speak about. I'm sorry" She smiles at me sympathetically, but, I can see that a bit of damage had been done. It was a huge thing to keep from her, but, I know I have my reasons. We fall quiet once more.  
"Well, to the reasons of why I'm here." Kenny speaks, trying to look as far away from Cat as possible.  
"I need to go back to New York, don't I?" I ask, apprehensively.  
He nods, "Only for a bit though, we need to keep the restraining order on him. You just need to sigh all the paperwork and it'll be renewed." He assures me.  
"Why couldn't you have brought the paperwork here?" Tori asks, frowning.  
I frown too, she makes a valid point.  
"Ah, yeah." Kenny shifts in his sit, nervously, "That's the other reason why I'm here. Dad wants to meet you."  
Tori looks a little shocked, but I knew this would happen eventually. She looks at me apprehensively, I give her a half smile and a shrug.

"So, does that mean we're going to New York?" Cat asks, happily, looking up from her now empty ice-cream tub.  
"We?" Kenny frowns.  
"Yes, we! We are a tricycle." She points to Tori and I.  
Kenny looks at me, confused. I shake my head, smirking.  
He leans over and whispers "Tricycle?"  
"She's a third wheel." I mutter back.  
Tori looks amused as her pregnant friend starts babbling about how awesome their trip is going to be. It was going to be a very eventful one that was for sure.  
"Oh, Jade?" Cat asks, in a sweet voice.  
"Yes, Cat?" I raise an eyebrow at her.  
"I know you've had a really emotional day and all... But, could you..."  
"You want me to make you pancakes now, don't you?" I shake my head at her again, as her tummy gave an angry growl.  
"Would you?" She flutters her eyelids at me.  
"I could make them." Kenny says, all of a sudden.  
Cat looks at him surprised, then her face turns serious, "Are they as good as Jade's?"  
"I..I..I don't know, I've never compared before." He stutters out.  
"I can't risk it. Jade in the kitchen please." Her tummy growling once more.  
I look at Tori, who's covering her mouth to stop herself from laughing.  
"Fine!" I give in, but I grab Tori and drag her in with me. If I have to do it, she can help me. She smiles at me, hopefully things will be ok between us. Cat groans exaggeratedly.  
"God! Don't take Tori with you! One look from her and you'll be having make-up lady sex on the counter!" She complains.  
"Oh god!" I hear Kenny whisper in horror.  
This New York trip is going to be a long one, I can feel it.

* * *

**Author's Notes- If you want to have Conner and Jade meet face to face again, let me know. But be warned, it'll be rather aggressive. haha, its up to you guys.**


	10. The Different Dad

**Author's Notes- Hey guys, I won't make any excuses, you guys know I suck at regular updates. But here it is, I hope you like it. **

* * *

"Tori, if you don't stop tossing and turning, I'm going to have to smother you." I threaten, sleepily.  
Tori turns back over again and sighs, "I'm sorry, I just can't get to sleep." She groans.  
"Why not?" I ask, rolling to face her.  
"I'm nervous, about tomorrow."  
'_Tomorrow._' I think, tomorrow we're flying to New York.  
I open my eyes to look at her. She has a rather worried expression on her face, I sigh out loud, she has a right to be worried. Not only am I going to have to sign paper work to reinstate a restraining order against my ex fiancé, but Tori's going to be meeting my father for the first time. It's not that I don't think my father won't like her, I'm afraid he'll say or do something to offend Tori and Cat. My father's not exactly the warm and fuzzy type.  
I reach out and grab her hand, "I'd try to reassure you, but I'm nervous too."  
"Look, I love Cat, but I'm worried about bringing her. We're used to her and her craziness, but I'm afraid she may do something offend your dad." She stresses.  
I laugh out loud, that's what's she's nervous about.  
"I'm not worried about Cat, she'll be fine." I laugh, feeling a small amount of weight lift.  
"Are you sure? I saw how nervous your brother is around her. She's gets a little scary when she's hungry, even more so now she's pregnant." She stresses.  
I laugh even harder.  
"What's so funny?" She asks, giving me a strange look.  
"Kenny's not scared of Cat, he's scared of women. Most women make him nervous. Especially ones he likes." I continue laughing.  
"Wait, he likes Cat?!" She exclaims, shocked.  
"Tori, you can be really oblivious sometimes." I shake my head.

"It's not just Cat, what if your dad doesn't like me?" She stresses even more.  
I reach over and cuddle into her, trying to make her feel better. There isn't much I could possibly say that could reassure her, because even if dad does like her, he probably won't show it.  
"Oh great, you're hugging me, now I'm really scared." She covers her face.  
"What are you talking about, I love hugging you." I say, snuggling closer.  
"Yeah, but it's not reassuring me. You're just making me more nervous." She whines.  
"Have I ever told you, you talk too much?" I lean in and kiss her.  
"Jade, I'm serious! I worried your dad won't think I'm good enough for you." She cries, looking even more worried than before.  
I give a sympathetic laugh and hug her even harder, "Tori, you're an Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominated actress. Of course you're not good enough for me." I joke. She lets out a half laugh, half sob.  
"Jade!" She playfully hits me, "Not to mention, is he even going to be ok with you being in a lesbian relationship?" She stresses.  
"Look, I'm not going to tell you it's going to be all sunshine and roses. Dad is aware of my bi-sexuality, but he's never really mentioned it, so I have no idea how it's going to go. But, he loves me, he just has different ways of showing it." I explain, with a small amount of difficulty.  
Tori sighs, "I know he does, I just really want him to like me."  
"Stop worrying, he'll probably tell me you're too good for me and I should marry you now before you realise." I joke. Tori giggles and snuggles in closer to me.  
"Just try and get some rest, we can worry about it all tomorrow." I say, closing my eyes.  
"Ok, just make sure you pack your scissors in your suitcase. We don't need to be held up by security tomorrow." She reminds me.  
"Yes, dear." I smirk, earning me another whack.

* * *

The flight to New York goes off without a hitch. Besides my brother not being able to speak to Cat the whole time without stuttering or losing pitch. Which was hard for him, because they sat together. I hit him in the arm as we walk through the airport.  
"Dude, you need to get a grip on yourself." I mutter, weaving through people.  
He nervously brushes his ebony hair forward, "I don't know what it is with her. She makes me more nervous than any other woman I've ever liked before." He says, awkwardly.  
"Ease up Turbo. She's not interested in any kind of relationship now. She's pregnant, she wants food and more food, anything else and she's going to tell you to get the hell out." I warn, keeping my voice low, so that Cat and Tori wouldn't overhear.  
"It's such a shame, why on earth would any man reject someone as beautiful and amazing as her." He says, gazing at her as they walk ahead of us.  
"Good lord, son! You've known her for two days and you're already head over heels." I furrow my brows, "Do I need to cut you off?" I ask, jokingly.  
He laughs and shakes his head, "I'll be ok."  
"Come on, you slow pokes! I want to get a soft pretzel and a dirty water hot dog before we meet your dad." Cat yells, from ahead.  
"Coming." Kenny sings back, but his voice breaks.  
"Jesus Christ, you've got it bad!" I chuckle to myself, as Kenny blushes.

We hurry up to them, as we come out to the luggage carousels.  
"Where are we going to meet your dad?" Tori asks Kenny.  
"At his apartment, on Fifth Avenue." He answers, keeping an eye out for our luggage.  
"Wait, we're meeting him at home?" I question, finding it strange.  
"Is that a problem?" Tori asks, nervously.  
"Ah..no.. It's just dad normally likes to meet any of our significant others at the West Co. Office. It's like an intimidation tactic, I guess. I'm so used to it happening there, I don't know what to think." I muse, wondering why the sudden change.  
"He's been really different lately, Jade. Like, I mean, he's still business focused and stern, but he seems more calm and genuine. It started happening just after you left for LA, now that I think about it." Kenny says, thoughtfully.  
"More calm? Like his vein in his forehead no longer pops?" I raise an eyebrow.  
Kenny chuckles, "Yeah, actually I haven't seen that in ages."  
"Wow." I mutter to myself, surprised. Then again, I have been gone over a year now, things do change.  
Tori saddles up to me and slips her hand into mine, it's a little clammy. I can tell how nervous she is. I give a reassuring squeeze, as we see the start of our luggage come around.

* * *

The cab slides up to the front of my families building. It's a 28 storey white stone structure. Each apartment has a beautiful view of the city. I hop out and look up, it was nice to be home, even if it was under pressured circumstances. After unloading our luggage and making our way into the elevator, we proceed up to the very top level. The penthouse of this building is where my brother and I grew up. It is filled with both happy and sad memories of my childhood, but regardless, I'm still quite pleased to be home. As the elevator climbs level by level, I look at the other three people in here. My brother, tall and handsome with ebony hair and Ivory skin. He keeps glancing nervously towards Cat, a light blush runs through his cheeks. I glance towards Cat who seems to be somewhat nervous too, she looks down at her little belly and gently rubs it, cooing softly to it. Finally, my eyes roam over to Tori, who's slightly shaking and is nervously fidgeting with her hair. Her tan skin looks pale as I can see how terrified she is. I feel the elevator slow down as we reach our destination. The doors open and we step out into the apartment.  
"Your elevator opens into your apartment?" Cat asks, in wonder.  
"Yeah, it's cool, hey?" Kenny grins at her. She nods as she looks around in amazement.  
The apartment looks exactly as I remember. Large open plan, brilliant white walls, with beautiful mouldings on the ceilings. All the furniture, dark stained wood with perfectly matching sculptures and paintings to tie the place together. The lounge room offers large floor to ceiling windows, giving you the full view of New York and its amazing beauty.

"Your home is beautiful!" Cat gushes.  
"Thanks Cat. Our mum designed it. You'll probably be meeting her today too." I say.  
I see Tori going even paler, if that's even possible. I lean in and whisper to her.  
"Don't worry, she's not scary."  
She nods, being unusually quiet. Kenny motions us to follow him, clearly knowing where our father is going to be. We set off through the apartment, we seem to be heading towards the office.  
'_Typical!_' I think to myself, just like dad to make himself more intimidating.  
We walk down the hallway, which is just as beautifully decorated as the rest of the apartment. At the end of the hall is a large oak door, Dad's office. We enter to find him sitting behind his big oak desk pouring over some important paperwork. I look around, it's as I remember, dark emerald green, with a fireplace over to the left and a giant window behind dad's desk, though he always has the shutters close.  
"Hello dad, I'm home and I've brought Jade and her guests." Kenny says.  
My father looks up, he holds a cold, steely gaze over us. I feel Tori begin to shake even harder.  
"Hello Kenneth. Jadelyn, welcome home. How has your stay in Los Angeles been?" He asks, his tone is deep, much deeper than I remember. I smirk, wondering if he's trying to scare Tori and Cat.  
"Hey dad, it's been great. I've met some really awesome people and also my girlfriend." I say stepping forward slightly, "Dad, this is Cat Valentine, one of my friends and Tori Vega, my girlfriend."

My father stands, suddenly, making Cat and Tori jump slightly. He walks over and looks intensely at them, as if he was analysing them.  
"You seem nervous?" He says to Tori, who is still shaking.  
"I am." She admits truthfully.  
"I haven't been this nervous since you kicked your shoe at the Chancellor of Yerba." Cat says, who also seems rather scared.  
"Cat, you know I didn't mean to do that." Tori says, hurriedly, trying to hush her.  
My father tilts he's head in interest.  
"You've been to Yerba?" He asks, his tone suddenly sounding a more surprised than cold.  
"Ah, yeah, it was a number of years ago. We had a small run in with the Chancellor which got us into to a small amount of trouble." Tori tries to dismiss it, though even I'm now interested as to what happened.  
"And by small, she means in the middle of our performance, her shoe flew off and took out the chancellor's only working eye and she was put in jail." Cat blurts out. Both Kenny and I widen our eyes in surprise, I never knew that this had happened.  
"Cat!" Tori scolds.  
"Then, with a series of unfortunate circumstances that happened after, landed the rest of us got put in jail too and we had to make friends with the prisoners and plan escape, with the help of our drama teacher. The Chancellor was pissed when he realised we got away!" Cat laughs, suddenly feeling less nervous now she was telling a story.  
My father eyes Tori and Cat interestedly, he looks to Tori.  
"So, you are the one who blinded The Chancellor of Yerba?" He asks, holding her with a cold gaze.  
Tori nods, then lowers her head in embarrassment. After a brief moment, my father begins to laugh, deeply. We all look at him confused.  
"Oh my word! I've always wanted to meet the woman who did that to him. He was such a dick!" He laughs, speaking less formal than anyone is used too.

After his laughter dies down, he can see confused looks on all of our faces.  
"My apologies." His tone, sounding much friendlier, "Tori, Cat, I'm Augustine West.  
Tori gives a weak wave, seeing some kind of relief flood her body, as for Cat, she gives him a big smile and a happy wave.  
"Please, come sit." He smiles, though it's not a warm smile, it's the warmest I'd ever seen.  
Tori and Cat sit on the two chairs in front of dad's desk, Tori looking a fraction less frightened.  
"How come you know about Yerba?" Cat asks, seemingly warming up to my dad.  
"Well, even though it's a small island, they produced a rare mineral we used to use in some of West Co. products. We had a great relationship with them for many years until the Chancellor took over." Dad replies.  
"It was a weird place when we were there." Tori says, finding her voice.  
"Oh my goodness, Tori. It has always been a weird place." He chuckles.  
I look over at Kenny, who's looking just as stunned as me at the conversation taking place.  
"So, you guys were put in jail?" Dad asks, with a light casual tone, like he was having a round of cosmos with his girlfriends.  
"Yes, at first it was only me." Tori blushes.  
"Oh! And all the prisoners were scared of Tori, because they thought she was a psycho for taking out the Chancellor's eye." Cat laughed, Tori laughs uneasily at Cat, "And when I had to be there as well, I joined a prison gang." Cat finishes as an afterthought.  
I look over to my father, who appears to be enjoying the conversation with them immensely.  
"Did any of you get bitten by a Vampire Moth?" Dad asks, seriously.  
"Here we go." I roll my eyes, as does Kenny.  
"What?" Tori questions me, with a weird look.  
"Jadelyn and Kenneth don't believe that the Vampire Moth was real." My dad shakes his head.  
"Oh my gosh, did you get bitten?" Cat asks, concerned, placing her hands on the desk.  
"Yes, I did, it was before those two were born and before the Chancellor took over. It was on the foot, I ended up losing a toe." Cat gasps and Tori sighs in sympathy.  
Dad had told us this story so many times, how on earth could you lose a toe from a moth? They don't even bite.  
"Our friend André got bitten. His neck had a massive lump on it, it was disgusting." Tori shakes her head.  
"Oh my word! He did survive, didn't he?" Dad asks, with concern.  
"Yeah but he had some really weird side effects. He ate salt for like two days." Cat says, thoughtfully. My father nods at her, understanding. Their conversation continues, dad mentioning some of the side effects he'd experienced and Tori nods along.  
I frown at them, "Wait! This Vampire Moth thing is real?" I ask Tori, knowing she wouldn't lie to me.  
"Of course it is, André could have died. Yerba is full of crazy arse creatures." She says, forcefully.  
"All these years and we always thought dad was just born without the toe and he was just making up the story to sound cool." Kenny says, in wonder.

All of a sudden Cat's stomach gives an angry growl. Dad looks at Cat, noticing for the first time she's pregnant. Cat rubs her belly, shushing it.  
"I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to being hungry all the time." Cat blushes, a little embarrassed at the timing of her stomach.  
"Not at all, Cat. I remember when my wife was pregnant, she would get hungry at all hours of the night and I'd have to run out and get her the most ridiculous things." He says, with a smile, "I hope your boyfriend does the same for you?"  
I small amount of awkward silence falls over the room.  
"Oh, well actually, I'm not with the father. He kind of did a runner, because he didn't want it to hurt his career." Cat lowers her head.  
My father frowns, I can't tell if he's about to judge her for being a single mum or not.  
"My dear, there is nothing to be ashamed of. I'm sure you'll make an excellent mother, and I can see you have a wonderful friend in Tori. Not to mention, you have my daughter Jadelyn. The fellow sounds like a bit of a jerk if you ask me." He says, kindly.  
I look at Kenny, he gives me a shrug. Dad look up to us.  
"I know, I'll go get your mother and she can make us an enormous dinner. I'll be right back." And with that he hopped up and hurried out of the room.  
Cat and Tori turned to us, "Well, that went well." Tori says, as she smiles, and Cat nods, "Jade, what's the matter?" Seeing a weird, confused look on my face.  
"Who was that man?" I ask Kenny.  
Again, he shrugs "I told you, he's been different lately."  
"Different? That's a completely new person." I say, flabbergasted. He started off like I remember, then slipped into this completely new person.  
"He must really like you guys." Kenny comments, looking a little impressed.  
"Really?" Tori asks, her eyes sparkling a little.  
"Yeah, I've never seen him be that talkative with anyone." I nod, wondering where the hell my father went, "This is really strange."  
"So, now all I have to do is impress your mum?" Tori says, looking nervously at the door.  
"Don't worry, Tori. Mum's great, honestly." Kenny assures her, though it didn't help her look any less nervous.  
"Well, are you ready?" I ask her. She nods, but takes my hand.  
All four of us walk back out into the hall and out towards the kitchen, for the next parent meeting.


	11. The Family Meal

**Author's Notes- BOOM! Bet you guys didn't think you'd get two updates in less than a week. Well, I was a bit productive this weekend, I can't promise I'm going to keep it up, but I'm going to try... What am I saying, haha, I can't promise that either. I love you guys for being so patient. **

* * *

"Stop shaking, the worst part is over." I hiss to Tori as we walk down the hall.  
"Sorry." She says, with a small gulp, "I don't remember this hall being so long." She mutters to herself.  
I hear Cat's stomach growl again from somewhere behind hide me.  
"God! How am I still hungry? I ate two soft pretzels and four dirty water hotdogs less than an hour ago." She complains, rubbing her belly.  
"Maybe you just haven't had anything satisfying enough yet." Kenny says, thoughtfully.  
I glance back at him, his ivory cheeks are rosy and his eyes are gleaming as he watches Cat walk beside him. I shake my head, I'd never seen my brother fall this hard for anyone.  
"Is your mum a good cook?" Cat asks, looking up at Kenny.  
"The best!" Kenny says, with only a small amount of squeak,  
"Is she a chef?" Cat grabs Kenny's arm urgently, rendering Kenny unable to talk for a moment.  
"She's an interior designer, Cat." I say, giving my brother a second to recover, "But she worked in a lot of restaurants to pay her way through College. Which is why she's the best cook ever."  
"She obviously didn't rub off on you." Tori giggles, quietly to herself.  
"I heard that!" I grumble.

We walk back through the lounge room and make our way into the kitchen. I hear Cat gasp a little as we enter. Our kitchen is pretty amazing. Beautiful white marble bench tops sparkle as the sunshine beams through the giant windows that give even more views of New York. All the appliances are stainless steel and our fridge has a glass door.  
"This kitchen is amazing." Tori comments, who seems just as awestruck as Cat.  
"Why thank you, darling." Comes a smooth voice. I turn and see my mother float into the kitchen, with my father following.  
"OMG, you look exactly like your mother." Tori gasps, gazing upon my mother's beauty.  
"Jadelyn, darling!" She squeals, losing some smoothness from her voice, her excitement seeping through. She dashes over and pulls me into a bear hug. Mum was always the touchy-feely parent, out of her and dad.  
"Hi Mum." I gasp out, trying to escape, but she then pulls Kenny into the hug as well. We bump heads as she encloses her arms around us.  
"Both my babies are here at the same time." She gushes. I hear a camera shutter, no doubt Tori taking more embarrassing photos of me.  
"Dear... Darling..." My father tries to pry her off us as she attempts to cut off our air supply with her love, "Maggie, dear, they're almost unconscious."  
She tuts, but reluctantly lets go after another minute.

"Um, mum, this is my girlfriend Tori and our friend Cat." I introduce, after regaining some air.  
Mum's eyes snap over to Tori, she walks over to her with an odd look on her face.  
"Tori Vega? You're the one dating my daughter?" She asks, with disapproving look.  
Tori begins to shake again, "Yes, Ma'am." I frown at my mother,  
"And you think you're good enough for her? Hm!" She asks, with a sharp tone.  
I see Kenny looking stunned, this isn't like our mother, what is going on?  
Tori looks more nervous than I've ever seen her, "I..I..."  
"Mum!" I say, in a low demanding growl, one that I hadn't used in a long time.  
Mum continues to stare Tori down, she then throws her head back and laughs.  
"Ah, I'm just kidding! Come here!" She laughs, pulling Tori into a giant hug.  
Tori looks stunned and still a little terrified.  
"Holy shit!" I mutter, to myself, Kenny even looked relieved, "Mum!" I scold.  
"I'm sorry darling, your dad didn't do his usually scary thing, so I thought I'd try it instead." She grins mischievously, still holding Tori.  
She pulls back and grins at Tori, who's clearly still not sure what's happening.  
"Sorry, darling." She winks at her, "And you must be Cat!" She goes over and hugs her too, Cat looking a little apprehensive but hugs her anyway.  
"Well, who's hungry?" She asks, pulling back from Cat, as her stomach rumbles again.

* * *

An hour later, we are all siting around the island in the kitchen, which is now laid full of food. The smell is amazing and I can see Cat is absolutely salivating, her stomach growling louder than I've ever heard it.  
"Darling, is there an animal in there? Goodness, that's loud!" Mum laughs, putting her ear to Cat's little belly.  
After mums little stint with Tori, everyone has finally gotten comfortable with each. We found out mum had been wanting to take acting classes lately and want to see if she could be scary.  
"Well, you nailed it." Tori breaths, a sigh of relief.  
We sit around the island and begin to eat, Cat struggles on what she should eat first.  
"Cat, dear, just pile it up." My father, laughs.  
I eye him suspiciously, something weird was going on with him, and I couldn't put my finger on it. I keep quiet about for the moment, why ruin a nice moment?

"So, how did you two meet?" Mum asks, interestedly.  
Cat, who's taking a sip of her drink, chokes a little on it, Tori goes a little red and I decide to look anywhere else. I'd had never told my parents, well really anyone except my friend Kim, how'd I'd met Tori. A sleep walking haze and her intruding my personal space is going to be a lot of fun to explain.  
"That's a really interesting story." Cat says, with a sly grin.  
"Cat!" Both Tori and I yell, she simply giggles.  
"I feel like there's a funny story coming." Mum's eyes sparkle, as she settles into her seat, getting herself ready.  
"Oh, well... Do you want to tell it?" Tori says to me, in a slightly horrified whisper.  
"Coward!" I mutter, smirking at her, "Ok, where do I start... Well, you know that Tori is an actress and given her weird schedule, she sometimes takes Ambien to help her sleep." I begin, I can already see Cat silently giggling.  
Mum, Dad and Kenny look at me, listening with interest, wondering where I'm going with this story, so I continue.  
"So, it was the night I moved in and I had a late night knock at the door, it was Tori. She had just gotten home from a movie shoot and had taken an Ambien, but she didn't know she was sleep walking, she went a little crazy, talking like a mile a minute and then the next thing I knew she had passed out on my couch." I laugh, awkwardly, Tori does the same.  
"Wow! Really? She actually let you in?" Kenny asks Tori, a little shocked, as my parents laugh.  
"Yeah, and she continued to let me in everyday since." Tori smiles, lovingly at me, to which I screwed my face up at her.

"It sounds like you've made my daughter soft, Tori." Dad comments, with a deep tone.  
"Oh, not at all. She'd tell me to get out all the time, I just didn't listen, and then Cat started coming over as well. She had no choice, we were going to be friends, Hey, Cat?"  
"Oh my gosh! Yes! I love Jade! She's grumpy as hell, defiantly not a morning person, and she absolutely hates everyone but she makes amazing pancakes and we wouldn't ever change her!" Cat says, with very animated hand gestures.  
"No way, she's way too much fun." Tori laughs, melodically.  
My whole family all have the same look of shock, I don't think they've heard anyone call me fun.  
"We're talking about my daughter, right?"  
"Mum!" I frown.  
"Oh jeez, sorry. You weren't ever the happy, fun type, even when you were dating Con..." Mum stops herself, an awkward silence falls over the room.  
The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. I begin to remember the other reason why I was here, I look down at my food, realising everyone is watching me. I try hard to think about anything else, when I hear Cat.  
"Oh, do you want to hear about the time I almost burnt down Jade's kitchen?" And then she proceeds to tell them about the time she burnt dinner in my kitchen and how I try to calm her down by hugging her. I feel Tori's hand slip into mine and giving it a reassuring squeeze. We continue listening to Cat tell stories about her times with me, my parents and brother laugh along, never had they heard about this side of me. Tori then continued with some of her own stories, which earned just as much laughter. The afternoon went on with out anymore awkward moments and plenty of laughter and happy moments, which quite frankly is incredibly weird to me.

* * *

I lay in bed thinking, it has been a very interesting day with my family. Everything was different and I couldn't quite understand what was happening. We'd never once as a family eaten around the kitchen island, nor had they ever been that interested in any of our friends. Today didn't make sense. I look over at Tori, who was sound asleep, she looks peaceful. I know I should be grateful that today went way more smoothly than it usually would, but I can't help thinking that something is going to go very wrong. I get up, I needed answers.

It's late, but I know my father would still be up. So, I make my way down the hall, to his office. There he is, like I thought, sitting behind his desk. It's just as I remembered, but something is off.  
"What's going on?" I ask, not bothering to announce myself.  
My father jumps, "Jesus, Jade! I forgot how good you are at sneaking around the house." He clutches his chest.  
I lean against the door frame and continue to stare at him.  
"Answer my question." I say, with a hint of demand.  
"What do you mean?" My father asks, clearly confused.  
"You've been nice and friendly and open all day. What's going on?" I eye him suspiciously.  
"I could never get one past you, could I?" He smirks, one that looks identical to mine. He gestures me to sit down.  
"Jade, I understand why you're so suspicious. I was never a very attentive father, to you or Kenny. I forced both of you to do things you didn't want to do. And... " He gives a big sigh "I feel very responsible for everything that happened with Conner. I have a lot to make up for." He says, sounding like he's been wanting to say this to me for a long time.  
I stare at him, waiting for some kind of 'but'. It doesn't come.  
"Why do you feel responsible? It was my choice to date the idiot, not yours. If I recall, you never really like him that much." I frown.  
"Which is why I feel responsible. I could have done more to stop it sooner. To stop the company from getting damaged and to stop the awful heartbreak you experienced. I will never forgive myself for not doing everything I could have to prevent you from getting hurt." He says, with words that sound incredibly genuine.

Again, I stare at him, wondering who this man is. Is he real? My father is distant and focused on nothing but business. Not a nice, friendly man who likes to laugh and joke around, like he had been today. I furrow my brows and stay silent.  
"So, Tori is nice." He takes my silence on the matter as a cue to change the subject.  
"You think?" I ask, raising a brow.  
He nods "Mm-hm."  
"You did a background check on her, didn't you?"  
He smirks, "Perceptive as always, Jade."  
"So, what did you find out about her?" I cross my arms, though I'm not really mad.  
"Nothing really, perfect credit ratings, did well in school, comes from a good family. She did a few crazy things while she was in school, but nothing that got her into trouble. Which is why I was so surprised to hear she had been jailed in Yerba. She must have paid a lot of money to have that completely removed off every record." He says, slightly impressed.  
"And you're being nice to her, because..." I frown, still wondering when things are going to go wrong.  
"Jade, *sighs*, I'm trying, ok, trying to be the father I should have been to you for all of these years. I'm always going to protect you, but I need to also start including the people in your life. I've never appreciated what was important to you and I need to start. After you left, I realised how much of your life I've missed. I've only got one family, I've always been proud of you, but now it's time I actually show you. So, now I'm going to try to be a better father, and try to be in your life more... I mean, if you'd let me?" He finishes his heartfelt words.  
'_What is happening right now?_' I think to myself, as I stare in shock at my father's admission.


	12. The Girlfriend's Confrontation

**Author's notes- Hey Guys, I had one of those rare days, where I had it all to myself and I managed to write the next chapter. You know, in between binge watching tv shows. Anyway, I decided to do things a little differently this chapter... DON'T HATE ME.**

* * *

I woke up to the best sight in the world, my girlfriend, with her ebony hair looking unkempt and scattered all over her pillow. Her usual grumpy face, now relaxed and in complete peace. Her hand is resting a few inches from my body, seemingly reaching out for me in our sleep. She had been fairly restless during the night, but now seems to be sleeping as peaceful as I'd ever seen. I always think to myself, how did I find her? How did I find someone as passionate and amazing as her? I reach out and stroke her face, her face instantly smiles and she lets out a contented sigh, though still very deep in sleep. People say she's so lucky to be dating me, but they're wrong. I grin to myself, knowing that I'm lucky one, I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have her. I giggle at the facial expressions she makes as she dreams. God, she still makes me giddy to look at her, I hope this feeling never goes away.  
I hear footsteps walk past the bedroom door. I tear my eyes away for her, looking towards the door, knowing I should probably get up. If I watch her any longer, I'll just be tempted to wake her. I lean over, gently kiss her forehead and gaze back at her one last time before I get up.  
"Stop watching me, you creep." She mutters, sleepily.  
Most people would find that abrupt and rather rude, but I know she means it lovingly, though she'd never admit it. I know she loves it when I watch her, because it makes her feel special. I always pray that I can make her feel as special as she is. I stifle another giggle, as I get up, how could someone ever want to change this perfect being? I love this girl, my girlfriend, Jade West.

* * *

I walk into the West's kitchen to find Cat sitting at the island, already ladled up with food. Pancakes, hash browns, bacon, eggs and a stack of toast. A dream expression is plastered all over her face. I look over and see Kenny making more pancakes. He also has a rather dreamy expression on his face, but I believe it's for an entirely different reason. I smile at them, I don't even know if Cat's realised yet that Kenny likes her. I'm pretty sure she's just here for the food.  
"Good morning, Tori." Kenny says, happily.  
"Mm! Tori!" Cat sings out, with a mouth full, I smile and wave to both of them.  
I reach out to steal a piece of bacon, but Cat slaps my hand away.  
"No bacon for you!" She snaps, with a growl.  
"Good morning to you too, Cat." I give a partially scared look.  
Kenny laughs, then places a plate in front of me. It wasn't as packed as Cat's, but there's heaps none the less. I thank him and smile.  
"How come you're not at the office this morning, Kenny? Aren't you in training to be CEO?" I ask, before tucking into my breakfast.  
"Jade asked me to go in with her this morning, Dad agreed he didn't want her to enter the office on her own. It's been quite a while since she's been there. And with her resigning the restraining order papers this morning, I think she's a little nervous." Kenny says, as he sits at the island with his own breakfast.  
"Yeah, she was a little restless last night. I wish I was going with her." I admit.  
"I know, Tori and it would mean the world to her, but it regards a lot of confidential information about the company." Kenny says, knowing how sad I am I couldn't be there to support Jade.  
"I know. It just kills me that she has to do something like this to keep that psycho away from her." I frown.

We fall silent, thinking about Jade's situation, other than Cat, who giving off moans of enjoyment, which were very passionate.  
"Enjoying that, are we, Cat?" I smirk.  
"Shhhh! Food!" She hushes me, Kenny chuckles at her.  
"So, is this Conner as slimy as I'm imagining in my head?" I ask, wondering what this arse is like.  
"Oh yeah, I hated him from the second I saw him. He always speaks with this up-its-self tone, and he just makes out he's better than everyone." Kenny scowls, one that looks almost identical to Jades.  
"What does he look like?" I think out loud.  
Kenny pulls out he's phone, "Here... This is him." I take the phone and see it's a news article about him. There's quite a large photo of him attached to it. He's certainly handsome with thick blonde hair and blue eyes, I can certainly see why someone would fall for him. I hand back the phone.  
"He has this way of speaking to women. Like, at first he charms them, and then, as things progress, he starts to make them feel insecure and then they start to change to suit him. But he's so subtle and deceiving about it, most women don't notice it." He says, with utter contempt in his voice.  
"How come you're so good at impersonating him?" Cat asks, all of sudden. I wasn't even aware she was even listening. I now remember Kenny was pretending to be Conner when we first met him.  
"Oh, well I'm actually really good at impersonations." He says, a bit surprised she asked, "When Jade and I went to performing arts school, that's how I got in." He admits.  
"Really? Who else can you do?" Cat asks, excitedly.  
"Um.. I can do a whole bunch of celebrities. But, you know who I can do the best?" He gives a sly grin, looking around to make sure he isn't heard.  
"Oh god! Please tell me it's not Jade?" I grimace, a little.  
He smirks, "Vega, get out of my apartment!" He says, in the most perfect impersonation of Jade.  
My mouth drops in utter disbelief, as does Cat's, "That's amazing!" Cat gasps.  
"That's the first time I've ever been turned on by a man before!" I say, shocked to hear my girlfriend's voice come out of her brother's mouth.

* * *

"Tell me again, why are we going into this fancy men's store?" I ask Cat, as we walk down Fifth Avenue.  
"Well, Jade's brother has been so nice to me..."  
"I wonder why." I mutter, with a smirk.  
"...And he's made me so much food, like a lot." She says the last part extremely seriously, "So, I'm going to buy him something nice, to say thank you."  
I nod along, seeing a few police officers standing near the store, it appears some of the traffic lights were getting fixed.  
"But, why a suit store?" I wonder, out loud, standing out the front of a very fancy suit store.  
"He's becoming a CEO, Tori. He's going to be wearing a fancy suit." She shakes her head at my apparent ignorance.  
"I see." I say, before smiling and waving at one of the police officers, who appears to be taking my photo. All the police wave back, with a massive smiles on their faces.  
A strong smell of leather hits us as we enter. There are beautiful suits hung everywhere. I look around wondering what Cat is going to buy.  
"What about a tie?" She asks, holding up some nice silk ties.  
"He doesn't seem that uptight to want lots of ties." I comment, thoughtfully.  
"Mmm... Ok, something else." She says, as she walks around the store.

I look around, there aren't too many people in the store. I wander around, looking at all the different suits. As I walk, I start to get the feeling I'm being stared at. It's not all together a new feeling, being famous tends to make people stare. But this was different, it wasn't an excited stare, I was being watched. After all these years, I can tell the difference. I continue walking, taking a turn by a large belt rack. I walk up behind the culprit.  
"Are you lost?" I ask, with a sharpness in my voice.  
Cat looks up from what's she's doing, surprised at my tone of voice. The man turns around, he's tall, handsome, with blonde hair and blue eyes, ones that I've seen recently. He's wearing a double breasted grey suit, with a black shirt and a black pocket square. He looks down at me and gives me an arrogant smile.  
"Tori Vega, it's a pleasure." He says, pompously, holding out his hand, "I'm Conner Winchester."  
I look at his hand, deciding not to shake it, "I know who you are."  
"Do you?" He replies, in a fake surprise, "Well then, I'm flattered."  
He comes off as slimy as I imagined, I frown as his mock reactions. Every part of me is screaming to grab Cat and run, but still I stand there. He attempts to tower over me, like he was trying to intimidate me. I step back and continue to hold my gaze. I hear Cat walking towards us.  
"Imagine that, somebody like _you_, knowing _me_? Simply amazing." He gushes, in a pompous manner. His voice sounds very narcissistic, it's deep and demanding. I stay silent, as I have nothing yet to say. He looks at me, clearly wanting some kind of confrontation with me.

"So, I hear you're dating my fiancé?" He asks, with an airy tone, holding himself in a grandiose manner.  
"Ex-fiancé." I retort, calmly.  
"Mm-hm. We'll see." He smirks, smugly.  
"How is Jay Jay?" He asks, turning to look at the belts, "Oh, that's what she likes me to call her when we're together." He looks back at me, pretending that I was confused at whom he was speaking of.  
The more he talks, the more I want to punch him in the face, but I resist. I feel Cat behind me.  
"I heard she lives in LA now. Running away from problems was always Jay Jays's specialty. But, you'll find that out soon enough." He gives me a dressing down look, before sniggering.  
"Why were you watching me?" I ask, disregarding his words.  
"Well, you are famous, how could I not? _The great Tori Vega! _Who wouldn't stare?" He winks at me. I hear Cat tut in disgust.  
"But, you weren't staring, you were watching me. I know the difference." I say, keeping a calm voice.  
"I suppose being as famous as you _are_, you would." He smiles, but the amount of arrogance pouring out of it, is unsettling, "I saw you enter the store, so I wanted to see the woman who is attempting to replace me." He finishes, his arrogant smile turns into a smug grin.  
"Oh, is that what I'm doing? Replacing you?" I ask, trying to not let his arrogance get to me.  
"Ha. Darling, nobody could replace _me!" _He places his hand on his chest, "She'll be back. She doesn't want to disgrace her family name with a lesbian, dyke relationship."  
I frown, this guy is so full of himself. It's like he doesn't even care that Jade is reinstating the restraining order today.  
"You think, Augustine West is going to approve of _you_? He didn't even approve of _me_, and _I'm_ a Winchester." He continues, giving important hand gestures, "What would the investors and the board members think of the West Family when they hear, Jay Jay's fraternising with some U-haul lesbian. Honestly, we all know you're just trying to get in with their money." He exclaims, loudly, making other customers look over.  
I look at Cat, and we both burst out laughing, "Did he just call me a U-haul lesbian?" I laugh, Cat laughs as hard as me.  
"Yeah, he did." She laughs, holding her belly slightly. Although, now I think about it, I did invade Jade's space the second I met her, even if I don't remember.

He seems thrown by our laughter, he furrows his brows. Cat's laughter dies down and she looks at Conner, "Why on earth would she want Jade's money, anyway? Tori's fucking loaded." She brags, "Probably has more money than you."  
He scowls, but only for a second, he wasn't about to let his intimidation slide because we started laughing.  
"Darling, I'm a Winchester. Nobody has more money than I." He gloats, running his fingers through his hair.  
I tilt my head slightly, trying to figure out what his game is. He's gloating about Jade coming back to him and that he's rich, but why? Jade would never go back to him, the second night Kenny was in LA, she had a rather graphic dream about stabbing him with her scissors. I'd never seen her wake up looking so refreshed. Is his game me now, trying to get me to leave her. Is he following us? He couldn't have known we were going to be here, we didn't even know we were going to be here. Did we just happen to walk into the one store in the whole of New York the contained this man? '_Maybe he works here now._' I think, wondering what his deal is.  
As if Cat is reading my mind, she speaks "_Pla-ease! _I bet you work here, you know, since you were disgraced and fired as a '_Co-CEO' _and almost jailed!" She remarks, with a vague hint of taunting in her voice.  
Something snaps a little in Conner's head, his eyes snap to Cat. His smug look turns as his lips thin and his eyes flash. '_Ooo, somebody struck a nerve!_' I think, watching his emotions run through his face.  
"Madam! I don't not work here. I am a Winchester! We do not occupy ourselves with such menial work such as this!" He exclaims, looking rather offended.

"Calm down, Chachi! No need to get upset." Cat replies, smirking a little.  
Conner glares at Cat, before changing back to his slimy demeanour.  
"None of that matters anyway. After today, I'll be back at West Co. and the board will put me in charge again." He says, as a matter of factly.  
I look surprised at his statement, then all of a sudden, a bad feeling washes over me. He's planning something. His face looks confident and settled, like he knew his plan is working.  
"Why would they reinstate you at West Co.? You cheated on the founder's daughter and had plans to get rid of her once you were married. I highly doubt anyone would let you in the front door." Cat snaps, her own voice beginning to sound angry.  
"Oh, my dear, but, they will." He says, smugly.  
"What did you do?" I ask, the bad feeling getting worse.  
"Nothing, really. It's just Jay Jay's going to be given an offer she won't be able to refuse." His arrogance intensifies.  
As the sentence exits his mouth, ten police cars race past the store, sirens blaring. My head snaps towards the window, they're heading in the direction of the business district. My heart begins to hammer and my palms begin to sweat. This couldn't be a 9/11 drill, my gut tells me something very bad is happening. I look back at Conner, who is also looking out the window.  
"Hm." He smirks, smugly, "My offer has been placed."  
I grab Cat's hand and we race out the store, almost knocking over a young employee. The police officers I had seen before are still there, I hear one of their radios, "_We have a 245 in progress at the West Co. building. All available units please take immediate action._"  
"Copy that." The officer, replies, before hopping into his vehicle, the others follow. They put on the sirens and both cars race off into the traffic.  
"Tori, what's a 245?" Cat asks, grabbing my arm, sounding extremely worried.  
"Assault with a deadly weapon." I respond, feeling my body going a little numb, "Cat, I think somebody's been shot."


	13. The Race to West Co

**Author's Notes- Hey guys, I hope you're ready for the next chapter. It'll be a bit of a slow burn for a bit, let me know if want me to speed the story up a bit. Also, do you want me to switch back to Jade in the next chapter?**

* * *

The next few minutes are a bit of a blur. All I can hear is sirens, I glance back into the store and see the gloating face of a complete psychopath staring me down through the window. He smirks at me one last time before turning his back and disappearing. I'm not even sure what was happening when I feel Cat take my hand. She steps out on the road, puts her fingers to her lips and whistles loudly. A cab immediately pulls up. She pulls me into the cab, telling the cab driver to get to the business district as fast as he could. My whole body is numb, I have no clue what to do. Who's hurt? Are they shot? My mind begins to race a million miles a minute. Cat's still holding my hand, she squeezes it, I can feel how worried she is. After about five minutes, she speaks.  
"It's going to be fine, Tori, it's going to be fine. We will not let the son of a bitch win." She mutters, "Can't you go any faster? Lives are on the line here!" She demands, the cab driver.  
"Red! It's New York City. How am I supposed to go any faster?" He questions her, with a bit of aggression, honking his horn at a car that cut him off. The cab driver, dark in colour, with a Brooklyn accent.  
"Grrrr! What are we going to do?" Cat growls, slumping back in her seat.  
"Why do you need to go the business district so fast, anyway?" He asks, suspiciously.  
"We just need to get the West Co. building." I say, suddenly finding my voice.  
"Oh, hold up! You don't want to be going there right now." He says, shake his head, "Mm-mm, there some real shit going down at the West Co. building."  
"We know, that's why we need to get th... Wait! How do you know?" Cat asks, furrowing her brows.  
He leans over and taps a silver radio, "Police scanner."  
"Aren't those illegal?" I ask, glaring suspiciously.  
"What! You a cop?" He snaps at me.  
"No, but my dad is!" I snap back.  
"NYPD?" He asks, apprehensively.  
"LAPD!" I cross my arms, "But he has friends out here."

He weaves in and out of traffic, "Look, ok, I use it to avoid traffic blocks and bad traffic jams. It's New York, the more customers I have, the more money I make."  
"Wait, if you have a police scanner, then you know what's happening at West Co.?" I gasp, leaning near the safety glass.  
"Why do you need to know so badly?" He questions, honking his horn again.  
"Why do you ask so damn many questions?" Cat snaps angrily, pushing me away from the safety glass.  
"Calm down, Red! I just wanna know why I'm driving into danger for you two." He says, a little startled, "Jesus Christ! White women!"  
"ANSWER HER FUCKING QUESTION! OR SO HELP ME GOD, I WILL SMASH THROUGH THIS GLAS..." She starts screaming, her hormones taking her completely over her.  
"CAT! Settle down! You'll go into labour. Jeez!" I grab her, and gently pull her away from the glass.  
"Look, that's my girlfriend's family's building. She's in there, with her whole family..." I start.  
"Hold up! You datin' Augustine West's daughter?" He asks, taking a sharp turn to the left.  
"Yes, I am! You have a problem with that?" I growl, defensively.  
"Nah, man! But I thought she was datin' that celebrity lesbian, Tori Vega." He says, thoughtfully.  
"SHE IS THAT CELEBRITY LESBIAN, DAMN IT!" Cat snaps, again, shoving me back away from the glass.  
"Whoa! Calm down, Red! You gonna make me crash!" He scolds her, honking the horn once again.  
"Cat, please calm down, think of the baby." I plead with her, grabbing her gently by the shoulders.  
"Yeah, girl, what your friend said, think of your baby." The cab driver says, a little scared Cat may actually get through the glass.

He continues to weave through the traffic, I realise he's actually making good time. I look over at Cat, she looks so angry that steam could potentially start rising off her soon. I lean back over to the glass, I see the guys ID tag on the dash. His name is Reggie.  
"Reggie, please." I beg, "Tell me, what's happening in that building!"  
He sighs to himself, as he comes to a red light, "Look, girl, I ain't gonna lie. It's not good, somebody's been shot." He says, as he turns his head to me.  
I feel the knot in my stomach tighten, I hear Cat gasp a little, "Do you know who?" I ask, willing my voice to work.  
"It ain't your girl; from what I can work out from the scanner, the person who's been shot is male." He explains. The knot lessens for a moment, it's not Jade. I let out a small sob of relief.  
"Don't be relieved yet, she could still be in danger." He warns me, as the light turns green, "Why do you think so many police cars are going there? I don't think they've got the guy yet."  
Cat grabs my hand, "What if someone shot Jade's dad?"  
'_No, no, no! Not when him and Jade are just starting to make amends. She can't lose him now!_' I think, worriedly to myself, squeezing Cat's hand.  
We fall silent for about a bit, only Reggie's horn honking breaking the silence. My stomach is churning, I want to text Jade, to see if she's alright, but I have no idea what kind of situation she's in, I don't want to make it worse. I check my phone anyway, to see if she's maybe messaged me, but there's nothing. I begin to hear the sirens again, we're getting closer. I move closer to the glass once more, looking out the front of the car. I see the West Co. building come into view. It's surrounded with police and barricades, I see the police trying back up the public; there's a huge crowd outside the building.  
Reggie pulls up about a block away from the building.  
"Alright ladies, I ain't going any further. Now if you wanna get yourselves killed, that's none of my business, but, if you are gonna try and go in there, just be careful." He says, sincerely, before, "Now, that's $15.50." He says, seriously.  
Cat rolls her eyes, as she shoves him a twenty.  
"All I get is $4.50 tip? That's all I get for driving your arses into danger." He complains, sourly.  
"Yes! That's all you get, because you could have had less of an attitude!" Cat snaps, angrily, as she steps out of the cab.  
"Ah, thanks Reggie! See you round!" I jump out and follow her.  
"White women! Fuckin' crazy! You can believe that!" I hear Reggie yell as he pulls away.

Cat and I dash through the crowd, as fast as Cat would let us.  
"Excuse me, pregnant redhead coming through!" She says, loudly, making people move out of her way.  
We finally make it through to the front of the crowd, I attempt to get under the barricade.  
"Oh, no, no, Miss! Please stand back!" A young police officer stops me.  
"I'm sorry, but my girlfriend and her family are up there, I have to get in there, now!" I stress my point, a little loudly.  
"I can't do that! Strict orders, miss... Oh wow! You're Tori Vega!" He gasps, pointing at me.  
Cat tugs at my arm, "Tori, I think it's your turn to calm down."  
"Why?" I snap, a little. She points over my shoulder, I turn and see every channel in the city media representatives. A few of them have noticed me, I cringe a little, but then I notice someone else.  
"It couldn't be... GARY! Gary, hey, Gary!" I yell, at one of the police officers in a suit.  
He looks up, yes, it's him, it was my dad's old partner. He moved to New York a few years ago, after he and his wife divorced, though I never knew why. He smiles and walks over.  
"Hey kiddo, long time, no see." He says, put his hands on his hips.  
"Gary! You have to let me in. My girlfriend is Jade West!" I grab him by the shirt.  
"Wait, Tori honey, I understand you're worried. But there's nothing you can do right now." He looks at me seriously.  
I tighten my grip on his shirt and turn my voice into the scariest version I could muster, "Gary, you listen to me! You will let me in and you will tell me everything that's going on, or I will walk over there.." I point to the media, "..and I will create the biggest media storm you have ever seen! Because I will stop at nothing to make sure she and her family are alright! Do you understand me?"  
He glances over to the media, who seem to be trying to get closer, the police having trouble get them to stay behind the barracks. He looks back to me, his eyes stare at me with a slight sympathy.  
He sighs, "Ok, but only because your David's daughter. Come on, Cat, you too!" He lets us in and takes us to where all the surveillance is set up.

"What is happening up there?" I demand once we're there.  
"Hold on, honey. Put these on. I'm breaking so many rules bringing you two back here, so at least wear these." He hands us some vests.  
"Is this kevlar?" Cat asks, putting on the vest.  
"Yeah, ours are fitted for us. But, we always have some spares." He explains.  
"Gary?" My voice gives away how worried I am.  
He sighs once more, "Tor, we don't have a lot of information just yet. We had some officers here today at the request of Mr West. He had a feeling something would go wrong with his daughter signing the restraining order on Conner Winchester."  
"We saw him, today." Cat says, urgently.  
"I'm sorry, you what?" He looks at us, surprised.  
We begin to tell him everything that had happened less than half an hour ago. About how Conner had a planned for something to happen in the West Co. building and how he thinks he's going to be reinstated as CEO. He listens carefully to every word. He nods when we finish.  
"This store, was it Sage Suits on Fifth?" He enquires, seriously.  
"Yeah, it was." Cat nods.  
"Clarkson, did you get all that?" He asks an officer to his left, who is sitting at the surveillance equipment.  
"Every word, sir." He appeared to have recorded what we had just told him.  
"We've been watching him for a while, not that he knows that. He thinks he's very clever, that his above the law. While, I can't prove it yet that he's behind all this, I had a feeling that this was him. But if it's not him up there with them, then who are they?" He wonders, looking up towards the building.

I feel so helpless, there's literally nothing we could do.  
"Gary, do you know who's been hurt?" Cat asks, with concern.  
"We're not sure yet, Cat. It appears there's more than one gunman. We've been having trouble getting into the surveillance systems, it seems they've been shut down." He says, sounding a little stressed, "But we have paramedics in the lobby, waiting to treat anyone's injuries. We have our officers in the building on stand by, they're preparing to negotiate with the gunman's to release any of the injured hostages." He explains, looking at the monitors.  
I look at Cat, she looks just as concerned as me, '_There's more than gunman._' The thought has put my fears into overdrive. Cat reaches out for my hand, she holds it tight.  
"Ok, sir. I've hacked through the West Co. second network, we should have footage of the main office suit in just a minute." Clarkson says, hurriedly typing away.  
"Second network?" I ask, wondering what that is.  
"It's a second backup network for the top level, in case there's a problem with the cameras. Mr West had the second network installed several years ago for safety purposes, but in came in handy when he was having suspicions about Conner a few years ago. Conner had shut all the cameras down in the main suit, so he couldn't be monitored, but Mr West being the clever man he is, he has the second network almost untraceable." He explains, watching Clarkson, "We became aware of it during the investigation with Conner. Which is why we have been able to hack it now."  
"10 seconds.." Clarkson says.  
"This monitor here?" Gary points, to the only blank monitor.  
He nods, "Yeah, one moment...and we should have picture... Now!" He hits the last button with purpose.  
The screen immediately lights up, we all look up the monitor. There appears to be nine people, the two officers have been tied up, Jade and her family are backed into one corner of the room and the other three seem to be the gunman. They are dressed all in black and with their faces covered. I look more carefully, trying to see if Jade is ok. She's hovering over someone, as is her father and her mother. They're hovering over Kenny.  
I gasp, "Kenny's been shot!"


	14. The Man Behind the Siege

**Author's notes: Hey guys, sorry about the delay. I had half of this written, but then some unforeseen events happened. Its been a very emotional month and I finally was able to bring myself to finish the chapter. I'm feeling a little better, so hopefully the humor will return in the next chapter. Again, thanks for sticking with me. I always love hearing what you guys have to say. **

* * *

My breath catches in my throat, Jade's brother, Jade's brother's been shot. I stare at the monitor, desperately looking for some sign of movement. I see Jade putting her hand on his arm. She looks back over to the gunman, she glares angrily. I hear Cat begin to hyperventilate, I look over, she's clutching her belly with tears in her eyes.  
"Cat.." I reach out for her.  
"Is he going to be ok?" She asks, not directing the question to anyone in particular.  
"I don't know." I says, sadly, they had only known each a few days, but it was clear they had formed a bond already.  
"Cat, we're about to make negotiations with the gunman to get him out of there. Don't worry, we'll get him out." He says, before speaking to his ear piece "Alright, make contact."  
He begins to be speak with the awaiting officers in the building. They start to make contact. We can hear their chatter, back and forth, back and forth, negotiations are made. Cat and I wait with baited breath. We watch one of the gunman talk on the phone, looking towards the West family. He points to one of the other gunman to open up the door. The first gunman hangs up the phone and walks over to Jade and her family. Jade clutches Kenny protectively, she begins argue with the gunman, though we can't hear what she's saying, as the monitor has no sound. He attempts throw Jade off Kenny. She begins to struggle and appears to be yelling at him. He throws her to the floor, Cat and I gasp. The gunman pulls Kenny up on to his feet. Kenny sways a little, unsteadily. The gunman shoves him towards the door. Jade gets back on her feet, her mother tries to stop her. Jade runs after the gunman, only to be stop by one of his accomplices. Jade punches him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, she continues to run towards the door. She looks like she's screaming, the third gunman catches her, managing to bring her down, and he points his gun at her, making sure she stays down. The first gunman, pushes Kenny out the door and slams the door shut.

It takes over half an hour before Kenny is brought out of the building. He's strapped to a stretcher, looking worse for wear. His arm is wrapped and he has a drip attached to him. He doesn't look to be conscious. The paramedics race him to the awaiting ambulance.  
"Why do you think it took so long?" Cat whispers, watches in horror.  
I look to Gary, who has a ear piece, he sideways glances at Cat.  
"Gary?" I ask, he knows why it took so long.  
"His arm isn't his only wound. He's lost a lot of blood...he almost..but he's on the way to the hospital. They'll make sure he gets the care that he needs." He assures us, trying to skate around the details.  
"Do you think I could go with them?" I see Cat ask, as the load him into the ambulance.  
"Not now, Cat. He may have to have surgery and you aren't family, so..." His voice trails off, he gives me the impression things are really bad.  
Cat and I watch as the ambulance starts up and blares its series. The crowd parts and it begins to race through the streets on its way to the nearest hospital. My fear just intensifies, even though he's out of the building, he's not out of the woods. I look back to the monitor, Jade is now back with her parents. The first gunman is standing over them, the third gunman is attempting to get the second one off the ground. Jade's punch to the stomach must have really done some damage.

Cat pulls up a seat next to Clarkson, who's typing away frantically. Cat puts her head in her hands, I walk up behind her and put my hands on her shoulders. How much longer is it going to be before we get them out of there? I pray this doesn't go on for hours, I don't know how much we could take. I try to drown out the sounds of the swarming crowd, the noise of the media and Clarkson's frantic typing.  
"What _are_ you doing?" Cat asks, seemingly annoyed by the noise.  
"I think I found a way to hack into the audio. I'm just trying to get past some more firewalls. Mr West sure knew what he was doing when he put in this back up network." He says, his fingers moving even faster.  
"So, we'll be able to hear what's happening?" I ask, look back to the monitor.  
"Yeah, hopefully." He nods, "but it could be a little while yet."  
"Good job, Clarkson." Gary says, giving him a nod of approval.  
The chatter had gone silent, the gunman don't seem to want to make any more negotiations. Gary sighs, the stress is adamant on his face. I wonder how he is going to get them all out alive.  
"They won't answer the phone anymore." He says, after a while.  
"So, now what?" I ask, fearfully.  
"Now, we wait." He sighs, once more.  
The wait is what makes this the hardest, knowing I can't do anything except watch a tiny screen. The only thing I can do is pray for a miracle.  
"So, how's your mum?" Gary asks, slyly.  
"GARY!"

* * *

A few hours later and there was still no breakthrough. Clarkson looks so stressed, I think he's going to pop a vein. I glance back at the monitor, also nothing had changed. Other than the gunman have now begun to pace. I find it odd.  
"It's like they're waiting for something, but what?" I muse, watching carefully.  
"I've been thinking that, too. Though, I think it's more of a who than a what." Gary says, walking up behind me. He had some fresh coffees in his hand. He hands them to Clarkson and myself, giving a water to Cat. Clarkson sculls the hot coffee in one, barely wincing as it scalds his throat.  
"You think they're waiting for someone?" I ask, turning to Gary.  
"Indeed! We have some very well place undercover police in amongst Conner Winchester inner circle. After you told me about your conversation with him at Sage Suits, I informed our officers to be on alert. He hasn't been seen for about an hour, now." Gary sips his coffee, "While we have every entrance we know of covered, we can't rule out that Conner may have other ways of getting into the building. He may have had things changed in his term of CEO."  
"So, you think they're waiting for Conner?" Cat asks, looking up from watching Clarkson.  
"Yes, I'm almost certain." He says, he seems so confident.  
"Ahhh!" Clarkson yells, slamming his hands down on the desk, almost knocking his laptop over.  
All three of us look over at the poor guy, it's been hours and all he keeps getting is firewalls. Mr West really knew how to protect his network. But what are we going to do now? We really need to hear what's happening in there.  
"I just can't get passed these last firewalls." He groans, warily.  
"Clarkson, you're the best Technical Analyst we have. I know you can get through those firewalls, you just need to think. Use that big brain of yours." Gary says, encouragingly.  
"There has to be a way, right?" I ask, trying not to become discouraged.

Clarkson runs his fingers over his face and through his hair, with a slight groan, he looks back up to the surveillance monitors.  
"There is one way." He says, with an air fear.  
"What is it?" Gary asks.  
Clarkson stands up, he points to one of the screens, "Do you see this corridor? On the left hand side, there, do you see it? It's an access control panel. It connects all the servers in the top suite. Even if the main serves have been shut down, the secret network will still run from that control panel."  
"Really?" I ask, staring at a small metal door on the wall, "It's so small, though."  
"It is. That's because it's only for the top suite. The main server tower is in the basement. If I can plug my laptop into that access panel, I should be able to override any other firewall." He explains, though he looks sick at the thought.  
I frown, really taking a look at the screen, Gary appears to be doing the same.  
"Clarkson..." His voice sounds grave.  
"I know sir... It's the only way." He assures Gary.  
"What's the only way?" Cat asks, looking worried.  
"That access panel is in the same corridor as the office suite door. If they notice you..." Gary says, with up most concern.  
"I know I'm not the best cop and I've really never had any field action, but I can do this... I think... I have to, it is my duty." Clarkson says, trying to sound brave.

A few minutes later, Clarkson has been geared up. He already had his Kevlar on, but he'd been giving the same uniform as a SWAT team member.  
"Are the weapons really necessary?" He glances down at the gun now in his belt.  
"Yes, it is. Please, we need you to be as safe as you can, Luke." Gary says, with concern. I note that Clarkson's first name must be Luke, "Any sign of trouble, you run. That's a direct order, do you understand me?"  
He nods, "Yes sir."  
Gary begins to rattle off the plan to get Clarkson into the building undetected. It consists of two SWAT officers getting him to the top floor via the fire escapes.  
"Oh, lord! I hope I survive the stairs." Clarkson winces at the thought of climbing that many stairs.  
"Clarkson, the stairs will be the least of your worries. If you went to the gym every now and then." Gary mutters the last part, shaking his head at Clarkson's skinny body.  
They say their farewells and we watch Clarkson and his laptop be hurry across the square courtyard and into the main lobby. We watch the monitors, we see him flit in and out of the screens as he makes his way through the building. He disappears for a while after he enters the fire escapes.  
"There must a lot of stairs." Cat mentions, as she looks up at the big building.

* * *

It's a full half hour before Clarkson reaches the top floor. We heard him muttering defeats the whole way up.  
"Clarkson, you climbed a total of seventeen stairwells. Be thankful you didn't have to climb them all." Gary reminds him, as the building is well over a hundred stories high.  
"_I think I'm dying._" Clarkson puffs over the radio, as he finally lands at the top.  
"Jesus!" Gary mutters to himself.  
Clarkson regains some of his breath while he sits behind the fire escape door. I glance back over to the monitor of the main suite, not much has changed, except the three gunman are standing facing the door. I see the two officers still struggling to get free and Jade and her family begin to look even more concerned.  
"Gary?" I tug his arm.  
He looks over, "Clarkson, stay where you are! Do not move! That's an order!"  
"What's happening?" Cat asks, standing up.  
"_Somebody's coming._" Clarkson whispers, through the radio.  
We watch the screen, within seconds the door opens and a tall man in a suit, with thick blonde hair enters.  
"I knew it! I fucking knew it!" Gary yells, "All officers be on standby. We got him."  
"But we can't hear anything yet." I cry.

We see Conner start speaking. Jade starts screaming in anger, her dad doing everything in his power to hold her back. One of the gunman steps forward, Conner stops him and shakes his head.  
"Clarkson, the corridor is clear. Move in." Gary orders.  
About twenty seconds later, Clarkson comes into view on screen. He immediately begins work, we watch and wait. His fingers seem to fly over the keyboard. I will him to hurry, watching my girlfriend being tormented by this crazed man. I can see the awful grin on his face, like he knows he's won. He walks towards Jade, speaking words we are still unable to hear.  
"Come on, Clarkson!" Gary growls.  
"_Twenty seconds!_" He says, with haste.  
My eyes are glued to the screen, Jade's father is trying to speak. But one of the gunman is trying to make him sit down.  
"_Ten seconds..._"  
Mr West is violently thrown to ground, Mrs West runs over to him. Jade looks more furious than I've ever seen her.  
"_Three seconds.. Two.. One.. Now!_"

_"How dare you!"_ Blares through speakers. Jade's voice is thick with disgust and anger.  
"_You'll never prove it was I behind all of this, Jay Jay!_" The smug voice pierces my eardrums.  
"_There are hundreds of cops out there, Conner! There are two in here! What makes you think they won't figure it out?_" She yells.  
"_Jay Jay, darling. It all comes down to you." _He walks up and brushes the back of his hand along her cheek. I clench my fists in anger. Jade shoves his hand away.  
"_You will tell everyone that I saved you from these three men and that you're so grateful that I will be reinstated as CEO and your fiancé." _He says, with such certainty.  
"_And what if I don't?" _She growls.  
"_Then, all of you die! And I come out as a distressed hero, that tried to save you, but couldn't, and in my grieving rage I managed to catch the gunman."_ He explains, "_The board members will be so thankful, they'll reinstate me as CEO."  
__"Kenny is still alive, he is the CEO!" _Jade roars.  
"_Tsk tsk! But he is out of action, shall we say and according to the contract I signed, if the current CEO is indisposed, the former CEO will be reinstated." _He smiles smugly.  
"_Yes! Meaning I would be the CEO again, not you."_ Mr West growls, struggling to get up. He's clearly been hurt.  
"_Yes, but that won't be the case this time, old man." _He towers over the struggling man, "_By the look of you, you'll be lucky to make it out of here."  
_

He turns back to Jade, with a triumphant look, "_So, Jay Jay, what shall it be? Be my fiancé again or die_?"  
"_You wanted to kill me before, if I become you're fiancé, who's to say you won't make plans to kill me again?_" Jade yells, backing up a little.  
"_Darling, I wasn't going to kill you." _He laughs, pompously, "_I was merely going to ship you off somewhere. You know the old saying out of sight, out of mind. Then, I would have just been the CEO and I could have continued..."  
_"_Fucking your secretary?_" Jade's voice begins to get a scary tone in it.  
"_Ah, I see your vulgar vocabulary has returned, I'll have to work on that."_ He gives her a look of disgust.  
"_Why? So, you can turn me into a shell of what I was? You ruined me!_" She spits, "_I'm finally happy, why can't you just leave me alone?_"  
"_Please! You're happy with that dyke?" _He yells, suddenly losing a bit of his cool, "_And you approve of this?_" He yells at Mr West, who's now holding himself up by the desk with his wife's help.  
"_Yes, she wasn't happy with you. She's happy with Tori, and Tori is 100% better person than you will ever be!_" He spits, Mrs West asking him to calm down a little.  
"_How on earth could this lesbian make you happy? Huh! She couldn't satisfy you like I did._" His angry seems to be consuming him.  
"_Is this what this is all about? You're jealous I moved on?_" Jade exclaims.  
"_You can never replace me! You and I were meant to be together._" He says, with conviction.  
"_Yeah, because you wanted my money and connections. Nothing else! You didn't want me. I was merely a one way ticket to the life you wanted!" _Jade yells,_ "I'm finally happy! Why can't you just leave me alone?"_

The silence in the surveillance tent is thick, you could hear a pin drop. We watch and listen, waiting. My heart is pounding so hard, this man's presence is tormenting my girlfriend and I can't do a thing about it. Gary looks strained, trying to figure out a way to get in there and get them out without getting hurt. The argument continues.  
"_What could this girl give you that I couldn't? Huh! She has no family name, no heritage! She's simply a half cast Latino! No pedigree, no class! You're going to be a sore spot on the West Family name forever and the board members will walk out in droves if you continue fraternising with the likes of her!" _He seems to become more and more deranged by the minute.  
"_You are nothing compared to her! I have no use for fancy titles and social standings! She is my soulmate and I love her! So get over it and leave me and my family alone. We and our business are better off without the likes of you!_" Jade spits, her anger also starting to consume.  
Conner seems snap a little at her words, his hand reaches for his pocket. Clarkson's voice speaks, "_What is he reaching for?"_ Sounding concerned, "_Oh no!"  
_I hold my breath, hearing Clarkson's laptop fall to the ground. I look up at the monitor of the corridor, Clarkson is gone.  
"Clarkson? Clarkson! Answer me!" Gary demands, watching the monitor. We hear running, but we have no idea which direction his heading.  
Conner's begins to speak again, this time his voice is eerily calm, "_She's your soulmate?"  
_Jade notices the change in his voice also and begins to back up.  
"_Well, it's unfortunate, really..."_ He pulls his hand out of his pocket, pulling a small handgun with it.  
"Clarkson! Answer me! Please!" Gary begs, watching the monitors in horror.  
Tears begin to prick my eyes, watching Jade back up further towards her family. Conner holds the gun out in front, pointing it at her.  
"_You'll just have to find her again in another life!" _He smirks, one last time.

**A resounding gun shot is heard.**


	15. The Aftermath

**Author'Notes: Heya guys, sorry this has taken so long. I wrote half of it ages ago and then I got a bit stuck. But I got quite ill over the xmas period. I did post some stuff over that time, but it was stuff I'd had for ages, except one, which was the result of not enough sleep and a high fever, hahaha. Either way, I've finally finished this chapter and I'm not sick anymore (only took two months). I hope you enjoy this. Again, sorry I took so long. I'm the worst at updates. I also have another Jori story in the works, still about half way through, but I'll post it as well when I'm done. Peace!**

* * *

_(Tori's POV)_

_The silence in the surveillance tent is thick, you could hear a pin drop. We watch and listen, waiting. My heart is pounding so hard, this man's presence is tormenting my girlfriend and I can't do a thing about it. Gary looks strained, trying to figure out a way to get in there and get them out without getting hurt. The argument continues._  
_"What could this girl give you that I couldn't? Huh! She has no family name, no heritage! She's simply a half cast Latino! No pedigree, no class! You're going to be a sore spot on the West Family name forever and the board members will walk out in droves if you continue fraternising with the likes of her!" He seems to become more and more deranged by the minute._  
_"You are nothing compared to her! I have no use for fancy titles and social standings! She is my soulmate and I love her! So, get over it and leave me and my family alone. We and our business are better off without the likes of you!" Jade spits, her anger also starting to consume._  
_Conner seems snap a little at her words, his hand reaches for his pocket. Clarkson's voice speaks, "What is he reaching for?" Sounding concerned, "Oh no!"  
I hold my breath, hearing Clarkson's laptop fall to the ground. I look up at the monitor of the corridor, Clarkson is gone._  
_"Clarkson? Clarkson! Answer me!" Gary demands, watching the monitor. We hear running, but we have no idea which direction his heading._  
_Conner's begins to speak again, this time his voice is eerily calm, "She's your soulmate?"  
Jade notices the change in his voice also and begins to back up._  
_"Well, it's unfortunate, really..." He pulls his hand out of his pocket, pulling a small handgun with it._  
_"Clarkson! Answer me! Please!" Gary begs, watching the monitors in horror._  
_Tears begin to prick my eyes, watching Jade back up further towards her family. Conner holds the gun out in front, pointing it at her._  
_"You'll just have to find her again in another life!" He smirks, one last time._

_**A resounding gun shot is heard.**_

* * *

"If you don't hold still, your scar won't heal nicely and it's going to look gruesome." The nurse scolds me, trying to hold my right leg in place. Her name is Barbara, she's a middle aged white woman with blonde hair.  
"Well, maybe I want a gruesome scar, did you ever think of that?" I snap, grumpily at her.  
She tuts at me, "Miss West, you really need to work on your attitude." She gives me a look, just daring me to challenge her. I decide not to, seeing as she's the one stitching up my thigh.  
"You're very lucky you weren't more seriously hurt." Barbara changes her tone to be a little kinder. She was right, other than a few bumps and bruises, the shot to my leg was the worst thing I received.  
"Like my brother?" I say, quietly, propping myself up on my elbows, on the hospital bed.  
She sighs, "He's doing better. Surgery went better than expected. He's a fighter, just like you."  
"How's my dad?" I ask, as haven't seen him since they loaded him into an ambulance.  
"I haven't heard any word yet, but I'll inform you the minute I know." She says, finishing up the stitching.  
She begins to bandage my thigh when I hear talking in the bay beside me.  
"I told you to run if there was danger, not run towards it!" The first male voice scolds.  
"I'm sorry. I was just thinking on my feet. This is why I don't do field work." The second male voice whines.  
"Who's that?" I ask, turning my head.  
"Detective Jones, but we just call him Gary." Barbara says, concentrating on my leg, "And he's speaking to the officer that saved you."  
I laugh, "You mean, attempted to save me."  
She frowns at me, "Ok, so his method was a little unorthodox, but you got out alive, didn't you?"  
I shrug my shoulders and lay back on the bed.

"But why did you use the taser? That's why we gave you a gun, Clarkson!" Gary says, sounding exasperated.  
"I'm not good with guns, ok! I'm a tech officer, we don't shoot guns." Clarkson snaps back.  
"But a taser?"  
"I wanted to make sure you could arrest him after, you know, make him pay for what he did. But I lost my footing when I fired it." Clarkson replied sheepishly.  
"You lost your footing? Clarkson, you tasered him in the neck!" I can hear Gary pacing.  
"I was aiming for his back, I didn't know I was going to stumble in my haste. I was trying to save Tori's girlfriend." He says, trying to get across the reason for his actions.  
I hear Gary sigh, continuing to pace.  
"Look, I didn't mean for him to fall forward and hit his head on the desk." Clarkson says, sounding a little regretful, "I also didn't mean for Miss West to get shot."  
"You're just lucky she only sustained a small leg wound." Gary says, sounding stressed, "But as for Mr Winchester, I guess I'll never get the chance to arrest him" I hear him sit down.  
"I'm sorry, Gary."  
"Luke, I know you didn't mean for him to die. I mean, nobody could have predicted that he'd hit his temple on the desk. At least the arsehole is no longer a problem." Gary sighs.

I stop listening and bask in the pure freedom I feel. He's gone, he's really gone. No more restraining orders, no more hiding, I'm really free. I just feel bad at the cost it took for my freedom, my family. Will they be mad at me? What will become of them now? I haven't seen any of them, nor have I seen Tori or Cat. I lay there wondering where they could be, I close my eyes and try to ignore the dull pain in my leg. A small amount of time goes by when I begin to hear some commotion.  
"I don't care what your rules are, I going in, now!"  
I smirk, recognising the voice.  
"Please, Miss, you aren't family." A nurse, pleads.  
"I'm not family?" She says, flabbergasted, "Do you know who I am?!"

_'Uh oh! She's using the "Do you know who I am" line!__'_ I think, mildly amused.

"Yes, Miss, I'm aware, but..." The nurse, seems to be losing the argument.  
"THEN, YOU WILL KNOW THAT I AM HER GIRLFRIEND!" She screams, "And since the law has changed, I have equal rights and if you don't move out of my way this instance, I will exercise all of my power I have in this hospital. Don't forget who donates millions of dollars here every year."

_'Wow! She is really angry, she rarely uses her star power to get what she wants... Except to get to me!'_ I think, laughing to myself.

"Miss, I understand that you're concerned, but we have proper protocol..." The nurse just won't give up.  
"Oh! Miss Vega!" Another voice chimes in, it sounds like my nurse, Barbara, "Miss West is waiting for you."  
"But.." The nurse says, sounding defeated.  
"This way, please. You too, Miss Valentine, I need to give you a look over." Barbara says, in curtly fashion.

Next thing I know, my curtain flies open. My nurse and two very worried women stand before me.  
"Jade!" They both exclaim, running towards me.  
Tori grabs me and pulls me into the tightest hug I've ever experienced. She starts to cry.  
"Vega...Vega, calm down, I can't breath...Tori..." I gasp.  
"Miss Vega, please be careful. I just put stitches in her leg." Barbara warns.  
"Ok." She sobs, reluctantly letting me go.  
"Alright, Miss Valentine, I just want to give you a quick check over." She smiles, warmly.  
"Why?" Cat asks, confused.  
"You may not have been up there in the tower, but you experience a lot of stress today. I just need to check on your little baby, strict instructions."  
"From who?" Cat frowns.  
"Detective Jones, now, please come along. It won't take long." Cat follows her out.  
I look back to my now leaking girlfriend. Her eyes are red and she looks extremely pale.  
"You'll dehydrated if you keep crying." I grin at her, trying to cheer her up.  
She simply cries even harder, hugging me once more, just not as hard this time.  
"I thought... I was going to lose.. you.." She says, through broken sobs.  
I wrap my arms around her, I had honestly thought she was going to lose me too. I didn't think I was going to make it out of there. I didn't think I'd ever see her again. Remembering thinking that makes me hold her a little tighter, knowing I'd never let her go.  
"I'm never letting you out of my sights ever again, do you understand me, West? Never!" She suddenly gets a little aggressive.  
"But I like my alone time." I joke, earning me a shove.

* * *

It took a few days before I was up and about again, granted it's on a walking stick, but I'm not going to complain. I came off lightly compared to Kenny and dad. Dad suffered 3 broken ribs, which collapsed one of his lungs. He's doing better now, but Kenny is still not out of the woods, he was breathing on his own finally, but other than that no change. I sit beside his bed, watching him breath and listening to the repetitive beeps of his heart monitor.

"How's he doing?"  
I turn and see Cat walking into the room.  
"The same." I sigh, "Where's Tori?"  
Cat sits beside me, "Outside, she got an important call. She won't be long."  
I nod and glance back at my brother, he was so lucky to be alive. It shouldn't have happened, none of it should. But, I can't help but be grateful, he saved my life. I just hope he isn't mad at me.  
"I can't imagine he'd be upset with you, Jade." Cat says, I look up and find her staring at me intently, seemingly have read my mind.  
"Are you sure? He was shot twice in the stomach and once in the arm, I'd be super pissed if I were him." Jade sigh, looking back at Kenny.  
"I don't know Kenny very well, but I can tell he idolises you. He'd do anything for you." She says, earnestly.  
"Hmhfp! Some idol I am. Got manipulated by a psychopath and nearly got my whole family killed for it!" I exclaim, dropping my face into my hands.

"Jade.."  
"Cat! This is my fault! My family almost died because of me and who knows what kind of side effects Kenny's going to have..because of me!" I begin to raise my voice, "I wouldn't be surprised if he never speaks to me again. He must be so angry at me." Dropping my voice on the last sentence.  
Cat watches me, seeing my heartache, "Jade.." I feel her hand on my shoulder, "He loves you, you're his big sister. He could never be angry at you."  
It was at the moment we hear a soft voice, we both look over at Kenny in shock.  
"I am angry at you." He says, in almost a whisper, my heart drops.  
We look at, trying to make sure that's exactly what we heard.  
"I'm really disappointed." He says, his voice getting a little stronger.  
"I'm so sorry, Kenny." I gasp, tears pricking in the corners of my eyes, "Please.."  
"I was shot three times… And no South Park reference? Not one. I'm so disappointed." He smirks, as he starts to open his eyes.  
Cat and I sit stunned for a moment, did we hear him right, or is this the drugs talking.  
"South Park?" Cat asks, bewildered.  
"Yeah, "You bastards, you shot Kenny!" Not once!" He grins, his voice raspy but full of mischief.  
Cat leans back in her seat shaking her head, "Jesus Christ!"  
"For fucks sake, Kenny!" I half laughing, half crying, "I hate you so much right now!" I grab his hand as I lean my face against the bed.  
"No you don't, you hate yourself for missing such a good opportunity." He says, smugly.

My laughing soon turns into just straight sobbing, I'm not much of a crier, but hearing my brother joke about his injuries just sent me over the edge. He wasn't mad at me, he seems exactly the same.  
"Jade, why are you crying? It was a joke." He hoarsely, comforts.  
Cat smiles rubs circles on my back, "She's ok. She's happy." Cat says, comforting me.  
It takes a while for me to calm down, the weight of the situation finally lifting.  
"How's mum and dad?" Kenny asks.  
"Your mum is fine, nothing more than a few bruises, your dad didn't fair as well, but he's doing a lot better now. He'll be allowed out of hospital tomorrow." Cat explains, letting me get my composure.  
"And you, Jade?" Kenny asks, concerned seeing my walking stick.  
"Flesh wound." I sniff, wiping away the final tears.  
"Wait? What do you mean, flesh wound?" He asks, his eyes wide with fear.  
I tell him everything that happened after he was shoved out of the room. There were so many things that happened after Kenny was taken away. He seemed truly horrified at the events that unfolded.  
"That piece of scum!" His voice getting a little stronger, though still sounding weak.  
I knew he needed to settle down, he was going to hurt himself getting all riled up.  
"Hey, hey, hey" I say, soothingly, "It's over now, and you're ok and that's all that mattered right now."  
He nods at me, I can see he was getting tired, he needed to rest. Tori came back into the room a minute later.  
"Hey, are you alright?" Seeing her face, she seemed to be processing a lot.  
"Ah, yeah, sort of.." She says, unsure, as she sits down.  
"Who was on the phone?" Cat asks, picking up some weird vibes.  
"Well, I spoke to Gary first. He wants to talk to us soon, some kind of debriefing and statements and stuff." She says, averting her eyes a bit, seemingly skating over something she wasn't telling us, "and then I got a weird call."  
"Yeah, who was it?" I ask, interestedly.  
"Beck." She says, with a stony look.


	16. The Back-up Plans

"Things could have been much worse, so much worse." Gary paces, cryptically.  
I watch him, wondering what he meant, I look over at Tori, she seems pale. She hadn't elaborated on her phone call with him, but it was obvious that he had told her something that had distressed her. We left the hospital to come to see Gary, for some kind of debriefing. I had already given him my statements and so had everyone else (beside Kenny), I couldn't help but wonder what it was he needed to brief us on.  
A young man entered the room, whom I recognised as the guy who saved me, and a rather important looking man followed.  
"Luke!" Tori jumps up, to greet the young guy, "How are you?"  
"I'm ok, Tori, a little nervous." He leans in and whispers, "I don't know what's happening, do you?"  
I see Tori's eyes narrow, "Ah, not 100% sure on everything myself… This is Jade."  
I grab my walking stick and push myself up, "Hey, it's Luke, right?"  
"Yes. Miss West… I'm sorry you were hurt… I was trying to.." He stammers, visibly upset.  
"Hey dude, firstly, call me Jade. And secondly, you saved my life and I'm not mad at you, I just really want to thank you. Besides, I'm gonna have an awesome scar." I grin, proudly.  
He looks at me, not sure if I was joking or not, "She's not joking." Tori sighs, noticing his confusion.

"Ok, ok, settle down everyone." The important man says, all of a sudden.  
He turns on the TV and my father and mother appear on the screen. Dad, still in his hospital bed, gave us a quick wave.  
"Chief Horton, how are you?" Dad asks, the important man.  
"Better, now this is almost over." He grunts, a little, "Now, Detective Jones, if you please."  
Gary nods, "We have done a full sweep of the West Co. Building." Gary says, addressing dad.  
"And what did you find?" Dad asks, seemingly understanding why we were here.  
Gary holds a small looking remote, it kind of looked like a garage key.  
"This was recovered from Winchester's body. We were concerned about it, as we informed you."  
"Concerned? About what? What is that?" I ask, bracing myself.  
"We couldn't rule out that Winchester had back up plans if things went wrong." Chief Horton, answers.  
"Back up plans? Killing me was his backup plan, wasn't it?" I ask, wondering what the hell else could he have had planned.  
"It was only one of his back up plans. This.." Gary holds, up the remote, "Was the other."  
"We found some suspicious looking devices attached to the modem towers in the basement. We sent bomb specialists in straight after to check them out." Chief Horton continues.

'_Bombs?!_' I think, horrified.  
I look over at Tori, her mouth dropped in horror, maybe Gary didn't tell her everything. Luke looks even more distressed than Tori.  
"Were they actually bombs?" He asks, sounding like he was to scared to even hear the answer.  
"Yes, son." Chief Horton, gruffs, "And if it wasn't for your, odd yet effective, actions, things may have been a lot worse."  
"You saved a lot of people, Clarkson." Gary remarks, with a small but proud smile.  
Luke turns a little red, but nods at his superiors, a little too stunned to say anything.  
I let the others continue the briefing as I withdraw into myself for a moment, I wasn't sure how to take all of this in. He wasn't just planning to kill me but hundreds, if not thousands of people. I take a deep breath, marveling at how wonderful it was to breathe, but low key freaking out about how differently all of this could have turned out. I feel Tori's hand slip into mine, suddenly I feel a little of the weight of the situation shift.  
"Well, that about wraps things up, you may go." Gary says, suddenly, realising I had zoned out of the rest of the briefing, "Clackson, you stay, there's a few other things we need to discuss." Gary finishes.  
Tori helps me up, we bid our farewell to Luke and the others and leave the building.

"Did you know?" I ask Tori, as we enter the elevator.  
"I knew that they'd found something… Gary just kept babbling about it was bad, really bad." She wraps her arms around herself, trying to bring a little comfort.  
We fall silent as we leave the building, we get into my family's town car. Even though I usually take cabs, I felt a little safer in my dad's car. I stare out the window in deep thought, wondering how it all came to this.  
"I'm sorry." I say, after a moment.  
Tori turns to me surprised, "What for?"  
"All of this… This crazy, fucked up situation that is my life. I never wanted for you to…" I start, getting upset.  
"Hey..hey, hey, shhhh…" She reaches out for me, tucking some hair behind my ear with a loving touch.  
"We all have a past, it's unavoidable. Things happen." She continues.  
"Things happen? Tori! My ex was a psychotic maniac that nearly killed my family and was preparing to blow up part of New York City." I impatiently wipe the tears off my face.  
"I never said that your past was perfect, I just said we all have one. Yours just happens to be a little more colourful than mine." She shrugs it off it off like it's nothing.  
"Colourful? You make me sound like got up to lots of illegal things." I half laugh, shaking my head.  
She smiles at me, it's a smile I've seen a lot, but one I never get tired of. She takes my hands and holds them in her lap, running small circles on them with her thumb.  
"We all have people in our past." She leans in and touches her forehead to mine, "and I'm not running away from you because of it. It's over now, and I'll make sure nothing hurts you again."

There it is, the warm feeling in my stomach, that spreads ever time she's near. To think, I used to find it somewhat annoying that she barged into my life and decided to stay.  
'_Nothing could ruin this moment…_' I think, happily.

*****_**ring, ring, ring***_

'_Then again.'_ I sigh, pulling back from Tori.  
She pulls out her phone and scowls deeply, "Speaking of pasts." She growls, as aggressively hits the decline button.  
"Leave me alone!" She yells at her phone, as she throws it into her bag.  
"So, I'm guessing he's not calling for Cat?" Getting the feeling I know who it is.  
Tori throws herself back in her seat, angrily crossing her arms.  
"You never did tell me what he wanted when he called this morning?" I ask, cautiously.  
"Well, you're right, he's not calling about Cat. He saw what happened on the news. He thought I was in the tower." She answers, annoyed.  
"So, just a concerned check-up, yeah?" Feeling the sarcasm dripping from my words.  
Tori rolls eyes in disgust, "He feels that it's too dangerous for me to be dating the likes of you. He said he wanted me to fly to Canada, where 'it's safe'."  
I frown, wondering if I should be offended, "Did he even ask about Cat?"  
"When I asked about Cat, he said he wasn't ringing about her, and never said another word about her." I could hear the distain in her voice.  
"Jerk!" I mutter, leaning back in my seat.

"I just never thought he'd turn out this way, you know. Back at school, he was the sweetest, most considerate guy. I knew he had a thing for me, but I thought he'd eventually  
get over it. Especially when I came out to everyone." Tori explains.  
"So, he knew you were gay for years, and still pursued you?" I ask.  
"Yeah, he was one of the first people I came out too. I think he just thought it was a phase." She sighs, looking miserable. "But, what he's done to Cat… It's just so unlike him. Well, at least the old him."  
"I guess love can push people to do crazy things." I comment, wondering what the old Beck was like.  
"I just hope he didn't hook up with Cat as some kind of sick plan to make me jealous." Tori says, quietly, sounding like she was voicing a true fear.  
I stay quiet, I had been wondering that myself. But it was such a terrible thought, I kept it to myself. How could anyone be so cruel to sweet Cat? All because of a childhood obsession.  
"Do you think he's going to keep causing a problem?" I wonder, out loud.  
Tori sighs, "I hate to say it, but this won't be the last time we'll hear from him. As you can tell, he doesn't give up easily."  
"What do you think will happen when Cat has the baby?" I look at Tori.  
"I mean, I really hope he man's up and takes responsibility, but from the ways he's been acting, I'm not sure I want him near Cat or her baby." She stresses, "But, that won't be up to me."  
'_Cat will have some tough decisions to make very soon_' I think, looking back out to the New York traffic.

* * *

**SEVERAL DAYS LATER**

"It'll be nice to use my leg properly again." I mutter, sourly as I hobble down the hospital hallway.  
"At least you're getting more strength in it. You look way less gumby now when you walk." Tori giggles, beside me.  
I grunt at her cheeriness, "Yeah, well, at least all of us seem to be on the mend."  
Kenny seemed to be coming along in leaps and bounds. They had taken nearly all the hospital equipment off of him and is set to make a full recovery. I mean, it'll take a while, he was shot several times, but all in all, he was doing quite remarkably. They moved him to a private suite in the hospital and seems to be loving all of the attention he's getting, especially from a certain red head.  
"You know, I don't think Cat has been back to the apartment more than twice in the last week." Tori mentions, casually.  
"Maybe she caught the same love bug my brother did." I laugh.  
"I'm amazed she hasn't eaten the hospital out of all its food." Tori laughs, as well.  
"Lucky my family's rich and can afford the food bill."

We continue laughing as we make our way to the room. It was early in the evening, we were expecting Kenny to be asleep. We really came to drag Cat home so she could rest too. I open the door quietly and hear a hushed voice.  
"You know, you're quite lucky you're going to have Cat as your mum."  
I stop abruptly, Tori looks at me confused. I bring my finger to my lip and shush her, I point into the room. It's Kenny's voice I hear, we slowly edge door open. I see Cat sitting beside Kenny, leaning against the headboard of the hospital bed (which was a double, I mean we are rich). She seems to be sound asleep, her hands resting on top of her little belly bulge.  
"I've only known her for a couple of weeks, but I can tell her how wonderful she is." Kenny says, softly.  
He's laying down, his head level with her belly. He gazes at her with pure happiness, it didn't seem to matter that he was severely injured, it just mattered that she was there. I had never seen this look on my brother's face before. He barely knew Cat, yet he looked at her with more love than anyone he'd ever cared for. Maybe this is what love at first sight looks like.  
"You're going to have such a fun life. You're mum is so happy and vibrant. Not to mention she has the best friends in the whole world." He continues, cooing at her belly.

I glance at Tori, she watches on with a joyful look on her face. I had come to understand that Cat hadn't exactly had an easy life. Though on the surface, you wouldn't think so, but with her brother being unstable and her family always focusing on him and never on her, she was forced to move from house to house within her family because her family were to busy with her brother. She even ran away for a while to live in her school. She once admitted to me, she's never really known what it felt like to be truly wanted. This made me so sad and angry, especially after what Beck did. But to see the way my brother was looking at her, like she was first girl he'd ever seen, it was truly beautiful. And the only reason it wasn't making me sick to see this lovey dovey display, was because I cared for both of them. I just wanted them both to be happy.  
"I hope you're mum will let me be part of your life too." Kenny whispers, tiredly, Kenny closes his eyes, preparing to go to sleep.  
"Oh!" Cat suddenly wakes up, making both Tori and I jump.  
"Are you ok?" Kenny asks, worriedly.  
"Yeah, I thought I felt the baby just kicked." She says, rubbing her belly.  
"Really?" Kenny smiles, looking back at her belly.  
Cat grabs Kenny's hand and guides it to her belly, they wait, when all of a sudden…***Growls*  
**I see Tori covering her mouth to prevent herself from laughing.  
"Nope! I guess I was just hungry." Cat sighs, disappointingly.  
Kenny starts laughing, but then regrets it, "Oh don't make me laugh. It hurts." Cat starts to laugh at him.  
The sight of them together was really something. Maybe Cat's decision about her future won't be so tough after all.


	17. The Problem

**Author's notes: Hey guys, thanks for the awesome feedback on the last chapter. You know I love hearing it, so please keep it up. And even though I have a rough idea of how all of this is going to end, I'd love to hear your thoughts. After all, it's your story too. :) Enjoy! **

* * *

"What's the matter, Cat?" I ask, frowning at her.  
She's staring at her plate full of food, but she hadn't eaten any of it, she just seems to be playing with it. She doesn't look up when I speak to her, as I watch her from behind the kitchen counter.  
"Cat!" I say, loudly, trying to get her attention.  
"Hm?" She looks up from the table, startled.  
"Are you ok?" I look at her, with concern.  
"Yeah, why?"  
"You haven't touch a single thing on your plate and I have a fully stocked cupboard." I point out, "And fridge." I add, as an afterthought.  
She shrugs, "I guess I'm just not hungry." She pushes the plate away.  
It's been a month since the incident in New York. We stayed at my parent's apartment in New York while I was recovering, but as I wasn't severely injured, I recovered quite quickly. And all too soon it was time to come back to LA, as both Tori and Cat had to get back to work. Though Tori got back into things easily, Cat hasn't really been the same since we left. For a whole month she bustled around the NY apartment taking care of everyone, everyone came to rely on her. We've been home for two days and I've never seen her looking so depressed.

"Have you got many clients this week?" Trying to make conversation.  
"No, not this week." She sighs, staring at the window.  
She helped us out so much, and now we're back, she has no one to look after and nothing to do. Not to mention, she was really starting to get close with Kenny. I watch her pick up her phone, I guess seeing if she had any messages. She puts it down a moment later, looking disappointed.  
"It's almost the middle of the night in New York, I'm sure he'll message you soon." I comment, reassuringly.  
She sighs, "Yeah."  
"Cat.." I look at her sympathetically.  
Just then, my front door opens, Tori walks in.  
"Hey guys!" She smiles, broadly, as she hangs up her coat.  
"Hey Tor." I say, happy to see her.  
"Hi Tori." Cat says, gloomily, she continues to stare out the window.  
Tori stops and looks over at Cat. She frowns and walks over to me, she kisses me hello.  
"What's up with her?" She asks, quietly, when she pulls back.  
"She's not hungry." I say, sadly, looking back over to Cat.  
Tori snaps her head over to Cat, she sees the untouched plate of food. She frowns, for six months, Cat has been eating us out of house and home and suddenly she'd not hungry.  
"What do you mean she's not hungry?" Tori whispers, "She's always hungry."  
"She's been like this since she got a few hours ago." I whisper back, "She's been so quiet."  
Tori looks over at Cat, her face full of pity.

"Cat.." Tori starts, walking towards her.  
"What?" She asks, not even looking at Tori.  
"Is everything ok?" Tori asks, tentatively.  
"Why wouldn't it be?" Cat retorts, with an air of bitterness.  
"Well, it's just you've been so quiet and.."  
"I feel useless, OK!" She explodes, suddenly.  
"Sorry?" Tori asks, startled.  
"I have nothing to do! Nobody to look after, nobody to cook for, and when you guys are working, I have nobody to talk too!" She stands up, knocking the chair over.  
"Cat, that's not true. You still have your business. What about your clients?" Tori asks, clearly trying to find something good.  
"Nobody has booked me in over a month, because I was in New York and nobody has called to book me since we've been back." Cat yells, "I have nothing booked into until next month!"  
"Ok, we can try and get you some more work.." Tori tries to reason.  
"I'm six months pregnant Tori! In two months, I have to stop working!" She stresses, pacing the room.  
"But, thought you had all of that sorted it out for your business?" I ask, confused.  
Cat had a plan in place to cover everything, while she was on maternity leave. She had a lot funds set aside to cover her until she got back to work.  
"Don't you have your baby leave money anymore?" Tori asks, worried.  
"I do, it's just…" She stops pacing, and looks like she's about to cry.  
"Just what?"  
"My landlord isn't renewing my lease. And I can't find a new apartment, no one will lease to a pregnant woman, especially a single one." She says, sadly, "I found out last week, while we were still in New York."

Now I realise, she wasn't waiting for a text from my brother, she was probably waiting for news on apartments. I remember that last week in New York, she was acting weird. She barely sat still, she was probably trying to keep her mind busy.  
"But, I thought your landlord agreed to renew your lease?" Tori questions.  
"Since I was in New York for so long, he decided against it. I wasn't even late on rent while we were gone and he still changed his mind." She sniffs, looking defeated, "I have to be out next week."  
"What?!" Tori and I yell, shocked.  
"And the only thing I can think of is buying my on house. But that would be all of my baby leave money and then some." She cries.  
"Why didn't you tell us?" I ask, walking towards her.  
"I thought I could fix it on my own, but I couldn't. I'm absolutely useless!" Finally succumbing to tears.  
Tori rushes over and hugs her friend, making Cat wail louder.  
"Cat, you should have come to me, I can help you." Tori exclaims.  
Cat pulls away, "You don't understand, Tori! I'm about to be someone's mother, how can I do that if I have to rely on my friends to always bail me out?"  
Tori opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out, clearly trying to find the right words.  
"You're right, Cat." I speak up, Tori whips around to me, shocked.  
Cat looks at me, my words seemingly calming her a little. It made sense that she didn't come to us, Tori has been helping and bailing Cat out since they were teenagers. Cat just wanted to prove she could do something on her own.  
"You're right, you can't always rely on your friends. There are times where we need to take care of things ourselves." I continue.  
"Jade.." Tori tries to interrupt, I hold my hand up and stop her.  
"But, this isn't one of those times. This isn't something like you've blown a client's makeup and they gave you a bad review or you've missed a bill payment. This different, this has been out of your control. We can help you with this and nobody would think any less of you for asking for help." I finish, wisely, "And it certainly wouldn't make you a bad mother. Everybody needs a little help sometimes."

Cat eyes well up once more, she nods at me, "I don't know what to do… Please help me." She says, through sniffs.  
"Of course, we will help you Cat. You don't even have to ask." Tori rushes back over and hugs her, getting emotional too.  
"Thank you." Cat whispers, "I just didn't want to be a burden."  
"Cat, you're never going to be a burden. We love you." I say, feeling a little heartbroken.  
"We'll head out first thing in the morning. We'll find you some where awesome. But in the meantime, you can stay with us." Tori says, squeezing her reassuring her.  
Cat continues to cry a little more, I'd never seen the happy, perky girl this broken. This wasn't a hormonal meltdown, this was real, raw emotion. This girl has had a tougher life than she's ever let on.

* * *

It's been a week since Cat's emotional breakdown. It took about an hour for everything to calm down, and we did eventually get her to eat something. She still hasn't gotten back to her perky self, I never thought I'd miss her surprise entrances into my apartment. Tori took a few days off to help Cat. But they still haven't had any luck finding something in Cat's price range and Cat is refusing to let Tori just throw some money at it. For her it's a matter of pride.

This morning I've been working on my new script, I had to get back to work too. Luckily, I have had a lot of work lined up and don't have to leave my apartment to do it. Well at least not at the moment. I yawn as I make my way to my desk, breathing in the smell of my second morning coffee.

_*****__**knock knock**__*****_

I groan, looking at the door. '_Maybe if I ignore it, they'll go away.'_ I think to myself.  
I turn my back and continue to the desk.

*_**knock knock knock**__*****_

"I won't go away, Jadelyn." Comes a voice from behind the door.  
The voice shocks me, as I put my coffee down and go to the front door. I open it to find my father standing before me.  
"Dad?" I says, surprised.  
"Hello, my dear." Dad smiles, warmly at me, something I'm still getting used to, "Can I come in?"  
Realising I'd just been staring at him in surprise, "Oh, yeah, of course, come in."  
He comes in and gazes around my apartment with immense interest. Luckily, I decided to clean up yesterday.  
"Dad, are you sure you're allowed to travel? I mean, you're still healing." I say, concerned.  
"Yes, your mother was worried too, so I took the private jet." He says, causally, as he observes my bookshelf, picking books up and reading the backs of them.  
"Since when do you have a private jet?" I question, frowning.  
"Since yesterday. I bought one." He says, turning back to me, "I must say, it is rather nice. Can I borrow this?" He holds up one of my books.  
I nod at him, but continue staring at him confused, I knew we were rich, but damn, I didn't know we were that rich.

"Ok." I mutter, weirdly, "Not that I'm not happy to see you dad, but what are you doing here?"  
"Straight to the point as always, Jadelyn." He smiles at me, "I came for a visit, I've missed you."  
"I was out here for almost a year, and you didn't come visit me." I cross my arms, glaring at him suspiciously.  
"Come on, Jade. With everything that happened in New York, you're still questioning my motives?" He pouts, something very uncharacteristic of him.  
I tilt my head, continuing to glare. I could get him to break, I'm one of the few people that can. He holds my gaze steady, but after a moment, he breaks into a grin.  
"Ok, you got me. There is another reason why I'm here. But I have been missing you terribly." He admits, "May I hug you?"  
My father has never really been a hands on dad. We'd only ever get the arm around the shoulder hug and that's if we had really exceeded his expectations. This would be new terrain for dad, which is why I'm guessing he's asking permission.  
"Yeah dad, I'd like that." I say, before receiving the biggest bear hug of my life.  
It was an entirely new experience for me, I have no living memory of being hugged like this from my dad. But it was entirely welcomed.  
"Have you been getting lessons from Cat?" I say with a muffled smirk, hugging him back.  
"Maybe." He chuckles, reaching up to gently pat my head, "I've missed all of you around the house. I know Kenny certainly has."  
I smirk, "I bet it's not me he's missing." Dad chuckles, shaking his head.

I go make my dad a coffee and we sit down to talk. I'm curious to see the main reason why he's here. I don't thinks its bad news, he seems to be in too good of a mood. We sit down across from each other in my lounge area and start to talk.  
"So, are you going to keep my in suspense or am I going to have to guess why you're here?" I ask, in a light tone.  
"We could play charades?" He jests, "Or 20 questions? Winner buys dinner."  
I look at him with a weird look, "Ok, this is going to take some getting used to. I'm not used to you being funny."  
"I've always been funny." Dad protests, putting one hand on his hip, poking out his tongue.  
"If you say so." I mutter, smirking.  
He grins at me, seemingly enjoying our banter. He pulls out his phone, clicks it a few times and places it on the coffee table in front of me. I glance down a see a picture.  
"What am I looking at?" I question, wondering what was all this about.  
"The private jet wasn't the only thing I bought." He smiles, broadly.  
"You came all this way to tell me you went on a rich persons shopping spree?" I deadpan, looking at how excited my father is getting.  
"Sort of…" But what he says after makes my mouth drop open in surprise and shock.  
"Wait! **What?**"


	18. The Grand Plan

**Author's Notes: Hey Guys, thanks for the awesome reviews. I had half of this chapter written with the last one, so that's why there's such a quick update. I hope I can keep it up, but I can't make any promises. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Dad, I'm not so sure about this." I say, feeling very overwhelmed.  
"Why not? Don't you like it?" Dad frowns.  
"Dad, it's great… It's gorgeous…" I whisper the last part, looking back at the phone, scrolling through the rest of the photos, "But, maybe it's just a little too much. It seems like you spent way too much money."  
"My dear, what's the good of having money if you can't spend it?" He says, happily.  
"Ok, who are you and what have you done with my father?" I put my hands in the stop position, coz this was getting weird.  
My father is all about making money, not spending it. He never spent money on outlandish things other than our house and his suits, that's it. Dad is all about saving and investing money. Not spending it on private jets and over the top gifts for me.  
"First the jet and now this?" I point to the phone.  
"What can I say, Jade? I'm a changed man. Near death experiences do that to you." He says, seriously, "I'm realising, life is far too short to not enjoy it."  
"Dad, I'm very happy that you've had an 'Ah ha' moment. But, how do you think I'm going to explain this to Tori and Cat?"  
"What's there to explain? It's for them too!" He exclaims, excitedly.  
"Jesus!" I mutter, putting my face in my hands.

* * *

**Hours later**

"Well, you're telling them." I tell my dad, as I watch he shake with excitement.  
"That's perfectly fine, Jade." He grins.  
"Don't blame me if it doesn't go well. Cat's been having a rough time the last few weeks."  
"What's been happening?" He asks, concerned.  
I proceed to tell him what's been happening, his face falls after hearing everything. He had grown quite fond of Cat, to the point they'd have daily coffee dates in his office every afternoon when we were in New York. I'm still not even sure what they talked about, but I know that dad had taught her to play chess. Cat seems to adore my dad, well both my parents in fact, she seemed to fit into the family like she'd been there for years.  
"The poor girl. How do people sleep at night if they can do that to someone as wonderful as Cat? And after all she's been through with that fluffy haired fellow." Dad shakes his head.  
"But, do you see why you need to be careful? She's very vulnerable right now." I say, quietly, worried about how this is all going to play out.  
"Yes, I understand." He nods, seriously, "But, I do hope they agree."  
_***Beep Beep**__***  
**_"Well, get ready, they're on their way." I read a message on my phone.  
"Oh! We should order some dinner. Dinner always helps for a difficult conversation." He claps his hands.  
I sigh and roll my eyes, "Sure thing, Dad. Whatever you want." I smirk, a little at his enthusiasm.

About half an hour later, dinner had arrived and Tori and Cat were about five minutes away. Dad flutters around my apartment, setting the table and making everything perfect. I sit at the counter watching him, I smile, it was sweet the way he was trying so hard.  
"Dad, its just dinner." I comment, resting my head on my hand.  
"Jade, it's gotta be prefect. Both Cat and Tori helped our family out so much and I just want them to know how much I appreciate them."  
"You also want them to say yes to your grand plan." I smirk, watching him perfectly placing the cutlery on the table.  
He rolls his eyes at me, but continues setting the table. The front door opens, and Tori walks in, she hangs up her coat and stuff.  
"Hey babe, what a day! We look at ten apartments and they were all in sketchy areas and the only one that wasn't, had a pervy neighbour that looked like he had a thing for  
pregnant women." She says, still sorting her stuff out.  
"Tori?" I smirk, she hasn't even seen dad yet.  
She looks up and sees me, then sees dad. She lets out am excited squeal.  
"Mr West!" She squeals, happily.  
"Hello dear, but how many times do I need to tell you to call me August?" He laughs, happily.  
Tori runs over and hugs him, this new version of my dad was really nice, even if it's going to take time to get used to.  
"Where's Cat?" I ask, wondering why she didn't come in.  
"She didn't really feel like being with people since we had such a bad day. She's over at my apartment." She says, sounding a little defeated.  
"Should I go get her?" Dad asks.  
"I will, she likes to sit in the dark. It'll probably freak out if somebody else goes in there. She has hella good reflexes." She warns, before setting off to get Cat.

"_Come on, Cat!" _ We hear about two minutes later, just outside the door.  
"_Why can't you just let me sit in the dark and brood, Tori?_" Cat whines.  
"_Because you're not Jade!_" Tori snaps.  
Dad looks over at me and smirks.  
"Shut up! I get it from you!" I sneer, whacking him in the arm.  
The door flies open, and Tori is attempting to drag Cat inside, but Cat seems to be putting up a good fight.  
"I can't handle your lady love tonight, Tori! Just let me be!" She cries.  
"I have a surprise for you, Cat!" Tori pants, "Just come inside!"  
Finally, Tori gets her over the threshold. Cat looks rather annoyed and flustered. Cat looks around and sees dad.  
"Auggie?" She says, surprised.  
I frown and look at Tori, she mouths to me "Auggie?" Just as confused.  
"Catalina!" Dad shouts, rushing over to hug her.  
"Since when do they have nicknames for each other?" I come over and whisper to Tori.  
"I don't know, he's your dad." She shrugs, staring at the two hugging.  
"Yeah, well she's your friend." I frown, well I suppose she's also my friend now.  
"If hadn't heard some guy call Cat's belly, simply divine, I'd say this was the strangest thing I'd heard today." Tori shakes her head.

* * *

"So, August, what brings you out to LA?" Tori asks, as she passes around the boxes of Chinese food.  
"I thought I'd come out for a visit. I've missed you guys." He replies, warmly.  
I smirk, it seems he's giving the same excuse he gave me. I begin to get a little nervous about how dad's going to bring up his grand plan.  
"Shouldn't you be resting, Auggie? You're shouldn't be travelling." Cat scolds.  
"Don't worry, I took the private jet, and rested the whole way here." He assured them.  
"You guys have a private jet?" Tori asks, surprised.  
"We do now!" I shove dad in the arm, "Mr Moneybags went on rich persons shopping spree." Dad rolls his eyes, but Cat frowns.  
"Wait! Didn't you tell me to only invest big money on things that increase in value, not decrease?" Cat asks, tilting her head, "Isn't a private jet just like a car, it decreases in value once it's driven off the lot?"  
We all look at Cat in surprise, what do her and dad talk about?  
"That is absolutely right, Cat. But, I had a change of heart on this one." He grins, sheepishly.  
"You wanna tell them the other thing you bought?" I say, slyly.  
"Way to throw me under the bus, Jade!" He chuckles, shoving me back.

"What else did you buy?" Tori asks, very interested  
"Well, it's something for all of you actually." He smiles, broadly.  
"All of us?" Cat asks, stunned.  
"Yes my dear, and Jade is 100% on board." He claps his hands together.  
"Hold up, lair! I haven't agreed to anything yet." I say, interrupting, Tori and Cat watch us, wondering what the hell is going on, "I told you, if these two don't agree, I don't either."  
Dad sighs, "Spoil sport." He mutters.  
"What's going on?" Tori presses.  
"Well, we've all missed having you guys around. And your mother thought…"  
"Daaaddd." I raise an eyebrow at him.  
"Ok, ok, it was my idea. But, your mother thought it was a great idea." He retorts.  
"What is?" Cat asks, a little demandingly.  
Dad looks at me, grinning, I shake my head and shrug. I motion him to continue. Dad pulls out his phone and places it on the table between Tori and Cat.  
"A phone?" Tori questions, confused.  
Dad reaches over and unlocks it. The screen unlocks onto the same picture he showed me earlier. I hear both women gasp, they look at me, then at dad and then at each other.  
"But, that's an…" Tori seems a little lost for words.  
"You bought us an apartment?" Cat asks, flabbergasted.  
"Wait! Is that in New York?" Tori gasps, grabbing the phone, dad nods happily.

They sit there stunned for about a minute, not sure what to say. I was getting even more nervous, both their faces weren't really saying much. I glance over a dad, he doesn't seem phased.  
"I don't understand." Cat says, finally.  
"Well, like I said before, we've missed you guys. It was wonderful having Jade home." Dad smiles at me, "But, we never realised what would happen when she brought the both of you home with her. We didn't just have our daughter back, we gained another two."  
Both Tori and Cat looked lost for words, Cat's eyes starting to get teary.  
"Since you've been gone, the house feels so empty. Maggie misses having around people to cook for and with." He motions to Tori and Cat, "Not to mention, Kenny seems so sad since you've all left. There's just no laughter in the house."  
Cat's head jerks up from the phone at the sound of Kenny's name. She has a sad look on her face, I could tell just how much she missed my brother.  
"So, you want all of us to come and live in New York?" Tori asks, seriously.  
"I don't want to pressure you all. I understand that you have many things that would keep you here in LA. It was just so wonderful having everyone around. And that apartment is two buildings down from ours." He mentions.  
"Is it?" I pipe up, he had left out that piece of info earlier.  
"Yes, I thought it would be nice for everyone to be close by. It's so wonderful to have the family back together, and it's even nicer that it's bigger.." He smiles, warmly.

We all fall silent once more, Tori concentrates on her food while she thinks, dad just keeps grinning at me, he seems really excited. I shake my head at him, I look over at Cat, the phone seems to be glued to her hand. Her face is passive and hard to read, I can only wonder what's going through her head. After minute, she suddenly lefts her head.  
"There's a nursery." Her voice quivers with emotion.  
"Well, of course my dear. The place is a top floor, bi level apartment. The top level will be for Tori and Jade and the lower level for you and the future grandchild." He remarks, happily.  
I raise my eyebrows in surprise at how easily the word grandchild came out of my father's mouth, as did Tori and Cat.  
"And Maggie is ready to have anything in the apartment remodeled. To be perfectly honest, she can't wait to get her claws into it. Not that it needs it, it's pretty spectacular." He seems rather proud of his pick, "Oh and Cat, Maggie said that she'll need your input on the nursery, since we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet."  
I nudge dad in the leg, he suddenly realises he may be going a little overboard.  
"I mean, this is all providing you decide you want move to New York." He says, sheepishly.

* * *

Its been about 3 hours since dad dropped his grand plan on Tori and Cat. I could tell it was a massive shock to the both of them. Cat sort of disappeared after dinner, she barely said anything during it either. After dad went to bed, I spoke with Tori. She actually seemed to be in love with the idea. She mentioned wanting to move out to New York for ages, but had never had the opportunity for it. But we both agreed, if Cat said no, we wouldn't go. There was no way we could leave her behind, not after everything we've been through.  
"I thought I'd find you up here." I find Cat sitting on the roof of our building.  
"Hey Jade." She smiles, looking up at me.  
I sit beside her, "Are you ok?"  
She sighs, "Yeah, it's just a lot to take in."  
I laugh, "You took it a lot better than I did. I started yelling at dad when he told me this morning."  
She smiles, probably the biggest I'd seen in over a week.  
"Are you sure this is ok?" She asks me, her smile vanishing.  
I frown, "Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't it be?"  
"Jade! You and Tori agreed to help me out with the baby, not live with me and the baby." She retorts, putting her hand on her hip.  
"Ok, so the plan will be a little different." I shrug.  
"Different?" She questions, sarcastically.  
"Ah come on Cat, the place is huge. It'll just be like we're neighbours. You'll have your space and we'll have ours." I reason.  
She nods, falling silent once more, thinking. I gaze up at the sky, looking at all the stars.

"Do they really want me there?" Cat says, so quietly, I almost didn't catch it.  
I stare at her, a little lost for words. I understand now, this wasn't just about moving house or moving cities. Dad spoke about all of us being a big family, something Cat hasn't ever known.  
"Cat, mum and dad love you so much. Trust me, you are so wanted. Besides, Tori and I couldn't even imagine life without you." I lean over, nudge her with my shoulder.  
"Even though I barge into your apartment and interrupt your lady loving?" She smirks, shyly.  
I throw my head back and laugh, "Yes, Cat even your terrible timing is wanted. I've never had friends like you and Tori. You guys changed my life, even if it was begrudgingly."  
Cat grins, I can see her relaxing, I really think apart of her really wants this. She just needs to be sure it's the right thing to do for her and her baby.  
"And I don't think mum and dad want to travel this far to see their first grandchild." I smirk, raising an eyebrow at Cat.  
She covers her mouth, "Is that ok? I'm not really their daughter. You are and I don't want to take anything away from yo…"  
I interrupt her, "It's perfectly ok, Cat!" I laugh, at her nervousness, "Mum can be Nanna Maggie and Dad can be Grandpa Auggie."  
Cat laughs, in spite of herself.  
"Besides, once you marry Kenny, it'll be official anyway." I throw out, chuckling.  
"Oh! I don't think that would happen." She laughs, nervously scratching her head.  
"Why not? You're basically perfect for each other."  
"I don't know about that, it's not something I see happening for me." She says, looking down at her belly.

I watch her, she looks sad again. I didn't realise how low Cat had been feeling about herself. I knew pregnant women sometimes feel bad about getting bigger, but Cat looks amazing. She doesn't even have a big belly, it was quite little to be honest. This had to run a little deeper.  
"Cat, you like Kenny, don't you?" I ask, tilting me head.  
"Yes of course I do. He's sweet and funny. He's so wonderful to me and he's very handsome." She mumbles the last part.  
I grab her hand and hold it in my lap "So, wants the problem?"  
She looks up at me, clearly wondering why I wasn't seeing a problem.  
"Well, I… It's just…" She stutters.  
"Cat, if you're thinking you're not good enough for my brother and family, because you're a single pregnant woman. Stop! Mum and Dad adore you, and Kenny, well I'm pretty sure he fell in love with you the second you told him off for his terrible prank." I laugh, "You're allowed to be happy, Cat. Whoever told you, you weren't good enough, they were wrong. And if you see that person, point them out and I will take care of them. Because you're worth the world."  
Cat stares at me, her mouth slightly opened. I think she may not know what to say, not to mention, I'm not normally one for comforting words. I squeeze her hand, reassuring her that things were going to be ok. We sit in comfortable silence for a long time after that, Cat leans her head on my shoulder.  
"Jade?" Cat says, after a while.  
"Yeah?"  
"Thank you." She says, I feel her smile against my shoulder.  
I smile too, looking out at the city. It was a nice city. But I did miss New York.  
"So, what do you say Cat? Ready to take our tricycle for a new adventure?"


End file.
